


One of You...

by MadhouseVagabond



Category: Achievement Hunter
Genre: Assassin - Freeform, B-Team, Betrayal, Bounty Hunting, F/M, FAHC, Flashbacks, Gang Violence, Gen, Humor, JDoolz, Los Santos, M/M, Nightmares, Team Battle Buddies - Freeform, Vagabond, gta v - Freeform, implied rape, jeremwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-09-03 18:10:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 30
Words: 96,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8724871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadhouseVagabond/pseuds/MadhouseVagabond
Summary: Jeremy Dooley is a 25 year old kid living on the streets of Los Santos. He's had to survive on his own for as long as he can remember. But what happens when this crack shot sniper ruins the heist of one of the most feared Crews in Los Santos?





	1. Welcome to Hell

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing FAHC material. Please let me know how you like it. I'll be updating periodically.

Jeremy Dooley strode casually down the sidewalk, keeping his gaze down but still keeping careful observations of his surroundings through his dark Oakleys without seeming to. The young man knew these streets well and knew the local gang members would be all around and not likely in the best of moods due to recent wars amongst some of the other city gangs. Luckily, it being midday helped his chances of survival.

Slightly.

Jeremy had grown up on the streets of Los Santos, never really knowing his parents as they'd been killed when he was young, his grandparents taking care of him didn't stop him from being out on the streets constantly. He'd survived all these years on instinct and quick thinking. He'd never really been one for gangs, and never had any desire to be tied down to one. He felt comfortable on his own, where the only one he had to worry about was himself. He took orders from no one and lived a free life, one that most of the gang members in this city would kill to have if they were being honest. Most of them didn't have what it took to survive alone without a crew to back them up. Jeremy had what it took.

Jeremy adjusted the strap of the backpack on his shoulder and straightened out the brim of his cowboy hat. He wore his favorite grey shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and deep purple dress jacket. His unusual wardrobe choice made him both stand out from and fit in at the same time to the strange populace of the city. The 5' 4", twenty-five year old man looked so ordinary in how much he stood out. You would never look twice at the kid, and this he used to his full advantage.

He was on the clock and needed to get this job done as quickly as possible so he could get back to his second passion in life: video games. The kid had discovered his strange talent for the virtual world a few years ago and had taken to it like a fish to water. When he wasn't working a job he was planted in front of his tv hunting achievements on his xbox or at his desk enjoying some steam games. It felt natural to be there, his controller and mouse feeling like they belonged in his hands, like they were an extension of himself.

Jeremy was snapped back to reality by the sound of gunfire in the distance. It was off to his left and slightly behind him. He paused and listened, waiting. Squealing tires and far away sirens filled the air and he knew a hot pursuit was underway. He waited a few more moments, gauging whether the chase would lead towards him. Nothing happened and he shrugged, resuming his walk. Gunfire wasn't the most uncommon sound in this city, the place being named the City of Sin for a reason. Gunfire here was about as common as traffic noise was in what he imagined a normal city would be like and he'd quickly become used to the sounds of violence. Jeremy walked for another ten blocks and then located the building he'd been searching for; a tall warehouse structure with an easily accessible fire escape leading to the roof, which had a sufficient amount of cover. He'd scoped the spot out a week before, making sure everything was exactly the way he required it to be. When it came to his job, Jeremy didn't fuck around. He was the best.

Scaling the ladder Jeremy dropped his backpack on the rock covered roof and went about the task of setting up his post. First he pulled out his trusty set of binoculars and took note of the area around him. The building across from his was a bank, one of the more popular ones in town, which was his primary focus. But remembering from past experience the kid took in the rest of his surroundings, not wanting to chance fucking up...again. The alley behind his building was clear and was the perfect place to make his quick exit. The streets weren't as busy as they'd normally be at this time of day, everyone probably on their lunch breaks or just getting off them. Jeremy was satisfied at the scene and put the binoculars away, retrieving the laptop from his backpack and going to work, sitting down with his back against the wall of the rooftop.

Typing furiously away, Jeremy launched the program he needed and hacked into the bank's security video feed, bypassing any and all security barriers set up to prevent outside infiltration like they were nothing. Jeremy accessed the channel he was looking for and disabled the real time security feed, easily covering his tracks and erasing any trace that he'd ever been in the system. He estimated it'd take the bank security officers at least fifteen minutes to discover the hack and another five to fix it. And even then, if the idiots did manage to figure out how to fix the hack, he'd planted a virus that would infect the whole system as a backup precaution, disabling all video feeds permanently. The distraction buying him enough time for the rest of his mission.

He launched another program that tapped into the records of the bank itself and started slowly funneling cash out of accounts and into a secret offshore bank he'd made an account with. Specifically one account that he'd originally come for, but why not aim big right?

_Damn I'm good!_ he thought to himself and smirked as he admired his work. Setting the laptop aside for now but allowing the programs to continue running, Jeremy pulled out the briefcase like container from his backpack. Snapping it open he flipped the lid up to reveal a broken down, shiny black sniper rifle. The kid smiled as he began constructing the rifle, his choice weapon. Jeremy had been told he'd been blessed with the eyes of a hawk and the reaction time of a striking cobra, his sniper being his deadly fangs. He'd also been told that his level of patience was frightening, as he'd once waited for a target for a good twenty hours without moving. He was not someone to be underestimated.

After fully constructing the sniper Jeremy ran a rag over the barrel, smiling at the shiny glint of weapon. This was his baby, one of his most treasured possessions. Putting the rag away Jeremy turned, planting one foot under him and raising to one knee, firmly planting the sniper on the small wall on the roof, a few feet from the edge of the building's roof. He gazed through the scope and adjusted the zoom till the entrance of the bank was in clear view. He calmed his breathing and waited. He took note of the sun's position, it now shining behind him and providing some cover, not having a chance to glint off the weapon. There was no wind to speak of which would make his shot more precise when he took it. He waited patiently, kneeling perfectly still like a statue frozen in time. A sentry keeping watch, a guardian. Only he wasn't quite a guardian.

As time wore on people began filing through the streets and the doors of the bank and nearby businesses, going about their dull ordinary lives. Jeremy sometimes wondered how much more different his life would've been had his parents lived and had raised him. Would he be like the people shuffling around on the street? Ordinary and boring, with no sense of adventure or purpose other than to go about their daily routines that weighed them down and held them back from a world so much bigger than what they could possibly conceive. Though he'd had a pretty shitty life and gone through hell, Jeremy knew he'd never trade any of it for a boring life like the ones those people on the sidewalks had. He lived for the thrill of his life, the sense of fight or flight that always kept him ready to spring into action at a moments notice, the sense of freedom that couldn't quite be put into words, the constant adrenalin rushes that to him could never be replicated by any street drug. This life he lived was the only one he wanted, and he never wanted it to change. It was comfortable, and it paid damn good money!

Jeremy was snapped out of his thoughts by movement on the street. A black car, with a green circular logo on the side had pulled up to the bank and two men had gotten out. They wore grey suites and looked casual enough, but something about the way they carried themselves, their personas, bothered him. On instinct his eyes darted towards the alley beside the bank, and he saw a motorcycle there in the shadows, a tall man sitting atop it. Jeremy got an uneasy feeling and swept his scope towards a rooftop a few buildings down from his.

_Fuck!_

There was another sniper there, laying prone scoping out the bank too. From what Jeremy could see without using his scope, the sniper wore a purple hoodie, jeans, and had a pink sniper rifle. He hadn't noticed Jeremy but that could only last for so long. He chanced a glance down at his computer. The program draining the money out of the bank said it was about two fifths of the way complete. He swore and went back to looking at the front of the bank. He was not going to miss his target. He assumed the sniper, biker, and businessmen were part of a gang or crew, one of the many living in Los Santos. Crossing paths with them could spell trouble, but Jeremy never quit and was determined to finish the job.

_Where are you?_ he thought, anxiety creeping into him. He wanted to be out of here quick. Glancing down at the laptop he saw that it was now three fifths complete and decided to call it good on that front. Quickly terminating the program he shut the laptop down and packed it away, returning to his sniper. Finally after several anxious minutes he spotted his target.

Target: Jared Caine, male 42  
Occupation: Bank Clerk  
Desired outcome: Dead

Jeremy ran through all the info he'd gotten from his contact and calmed his breathing. He focused on the man's head and breathed out slowly as he softly squeezed the trigger. Through his scope he saw the target's head explode in a sickening mess of brain matter and blood, the wall of the bank now having a nice red paint job. People screamed and ran in panic as they always did, a nice little touch to the chaos, and in those few moments Jeremy had packed up and scurried down the fire escape. He darted into the alley and found what he'd been looking for, a manhole! Lifting the grate he slid into the hole and replaced the cover.

Even if someone had seen him on the roof, they'd have no way of tracking him. They would assume he'd be on the streets, or hijacking a vehicle to make a speedy getaway. And while they looked for him on the surface, he'd be making his way home under their feet, taking his sweet time. He smiled. These little tricks he'd picked up had gotten him out of many a tough situation before, and he loved using them. He also loved seeing the frustration in the eyes of the police on the news reports after he'd finish a job, frustration that there was no trace of him whatsoever.

_This is my game boys, and we play by my rules. Welcome to hell!_ he thought, as he strode through the sewer system of the City of Sin.


	2. A Simple Job

Jeremy yawned and stretched on the couch in his run down apartment. He'd been sitting here for a good three hours playing video games and racking up his gamerscore. The kid had returned home from working his job and immediately flipped on the news channel. There were camera crews and helicopters everywhere, police tape sectioning off the area where his target had fallen. Frightened pedestrians gathered in the background, which hadn't surprised Jeremy as this was the typical scene after most crimes.

What had caught his eye though was one man in particular. He wore a grey suit and carried a black briefcase in his left hand, which looked heavily tattooed. He had a dark brown handlebar mustache that curled at the ends like a pirate. This man was one of the two he'd spotted getting out of the mysterious black car only a few moments before squeezing the trigger. He'd shrugged it off but commited the man's face to memory before switching off the tv.

He'd sighed and called his contact to let them know the job was done and to leave his payment at the usual place. He then had opened his laptop and checked the amount of cash transferred during the job. The account of his target was completely empty and now in his possession, as well as a good chunk of money from several other accounts. It totaled out to be a nice $57k. Jeremy smiled and moved three thousand of it to his personal account and spread the rest out amongst his emergency accounts. He'd learned not to be greedy with the money he earned, spending what little he needed to and saving the rest. He wasn't sure what he was saving it all for, but he knew it was better to have a reserve than to blow it all and be wanting.

The kid rubbed his eyes and walked to the bathroom. He stripped down and took a nice relaxing shower, the warm water running down his body like fingers. After toweling off he'd thrown on a grey tank top and black basketball shorts and plopped down on his couch to play some video games.

Now scratching his short brown beard, Jeremy checked his phone and saw that he had a voicemail. He listened to it and heard his contact's voice telling him he'd deposited his payment at Jeremy's usual pick up location and that he'd let the kid know when the next job was available. Jeremy stood and walked to his fridge, pulling out the leftover pizza from last night and digging in. He felt a soft warm body press up against his leg and smiled.

"Hey there Booker! Did you miss your daddy?" he asked the cat. The feline gazed up at him and purred loudly. A second cat emerged from the bedroom and trotted over to Jeremy and Booker.

"Scooter have you been keeping this one in line buddy?" Jeremy asked and petted the newcomer. The cat meowed and looked like he smiled up at Jeremy as if to say, "All in a day's work." The kid stood and pored food into the cat's bowls and then refilled their water dishes. His sniper rifle may be his baby, but his cats were his precious Angels.

Jeremy walked back to his couch, carrying his pizza with him, and smiled when he saw a name pop up on the screen. He quickly added his friend to the voice chat party he and another friend had been in for the last hour.

"Hey what's going on Treyco?" he asked happily. His friend, Trevor Collins had been his buddy for years, the two meeting at an arcade and becoming friends over a dumb game of street fighter.

"Hey Lil' J! You know, same old same old. Just being a nerd and avoiding human contact," Trevor responded. Jeremy laughed at his friends joke and the laughter from his other friend echoed over the mic.

"Matt Bragg, how've you been my fine sir?" asked Trevor.

"Meh, pretty good I guess. I may have kidney stones," Matt Bragg said. Matt and Jeremy had been college buddies for the one year Jeremy had gone to college and had reconnected via Xbox live about a year ago.

"Again?" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure my body is trying to kill me," Matt joked.

"Did you guys hear about what happened on the news?" asked Trevor. Jeremy knew exactly what he was talking about but decided to play dumb.

"Nope I was asleep most of the day enjoying my day off. What happened?" he asked.

"A bank clerk was murdered outside his bank today! How could you have missed it? It's all over the news!" exclaimed Trevor.

"Shit man! That's terrible," Matt said. Jeremy could tell the man was about to take a bite of food. He was using his, "I'm eating now" voice.

"Damn! Hope it wasn't my bank, I was going to go make a deposit today!" Jeremy lied. In his line of work lying had become second nature to him. Being a good liar took practice, and he'd had years to perfect it.

"It could've been you that was shot!" exclaimed Matt.

"Hey, do you ever wonder why we're here?" asked Jeremy.

"Nope, never. Not once," said Trevor and the trio laughed. The three friends spent the next two hours destroying noobs in halo matchmaking. They were a deadly team, a force to be reckoned with. After their last game Jeremy shut down the system and walked to his bedroom. He'd pick up his payment later in the evening after he'd taken a nap. The kid was exhausted, more so than usual after pulling a job. Luckily being a self employed assassin/hitman/bounty hunter, he made his own schedule and did as he pleased. Laying down on his bed Jeremy sighed. His cats curled up with him and he smiled as he set his alarm to go off in an hour and then settled down for a relaxing and well deserved nap.

                           ~  
                           ~

At a fancy apartment building in the nicer part of Los Santos the man in the grey suit and handlebar mustache slammed his fist onto the wooden table.

"You motherfuckers can't even track down a single bank thief?! What kind of sorry excuse for criminals are you?" he shouted. A young man with curly brown hair shrugged.

"What can I say? The little fuck is hard to track. He does a good job of hiding his tracks. He's pretty damn good Geoff," he said.

"No, WE'RE pretty good Michael! This guy is a fucking ninja!" Geoff exclaimed, pointing a finger at himself when he said "we're".

"Calm down Geoff it's okay. There are other banks in this city," said a heavy set man with a large beard and mustache. He wore glasses and had soft, gentle brown eyes.

"Oh don't start with me Jack! We've been planning this heist for three fucking months and what happens? Some little amateur assassin paints the bank with some clerk, blows whatever cover we had, gets away with a good chunk of OUR money, and to top it off somehow manages to evade my Crew and their tireless efforts to track him down!" Geoff raged, sarcasm dripping from his voice so heavily you could almost reach out and touch it.

"Geoffrey relax please! There will be other heists. We honestly weren't very prepared for this one anyway so maybe it was a sign we weren't supposed to pull it off," piped up the youngest member of the Crew in his British voice. His blonde hair was sticking out at all angles and he wore dark sunglasses.

"Gavin shut the fuck up!" snapped Geoff and Michael at the same time. At the end of the table another young man sat. The young Puerto Rican seemed to be paying zero attention to the heated conversation going on in front of him, instead concentrating on the pink 3DS in his hands, trying furiously to beat the level in his game. He looked sloppy, his purple hoodie and blue jeans wrinkled and his hair all a mess. His black beard twitched slightly every time something wrong happened in his game, which he stared at intently through thick black rimmed glasses.

"Care to add any input Ray?" asked Geoff. The kid shook his head.

"Only that this conversation better not roll into my blaze time," he said, drawing giggles from Michael and Gavin. Jack smiled and Geoff rolled his eyes.

"Okay fine, you yahoos won't take this seriously, but I know you will!" he said and looked at the final member of the group. The man hadn't spoken the whole time, standing quietly in the corner of the room leaned up against the wall watching. He was tall and intimidating, standing there with his arms crossed. The leather jacket and black skull mask he wore didn't help either but furthered his air of mystery. The man was silent for a moment then nodded as if he'd been pondering Geoff's statement.

"If anyone can find this motherfucker, it's you. Can you do it?" Geoff asked hopefully. The man didn't move for several seconds and then straightened up and uncrossed his arms. He walked forward into the light of the room and stood in front of Geoff looking down at him with two piercing, icy blue eyes that seemed to carry no emotion whatsoever.

"No one in this city can stay hidden from the Vagabond for long," the man said in a flat, deep voice that seemed to drip with death. Geoff shuddered and nodded. The mysterious man known as the Vagabond exited the room, leaving the Crew alone to shudder. He rarely spoke, the Vagabond, and when he did, peopled died.

                           ~

Jeremy woke to his phone's alarm going off and sat up. His nap had been well needed and he felt rejuvenated now. He threw on a jacket and shoes before heading out the door to pick up his money. He hopped on his black motorcycle and took off, weaving in and out of traffic at break neck speed. The kid was definitely reckless but at the same time controlled and precise. He'd been in more dangerous situations than this countless times, this was a simple walk in the park.

After a good twenty minutes of driving Jeremy pulled to a stop at a beachfront parking ground. The piers and ocean were to his right, the waters peacefully lapping at the sand while the sound of distant crashing waves was audible. Couples and families were walking the piers and along the beach, happy children laughing and screaming as they played and their parents looked on happily. Jeremy allowed himself to wonder briefly what his life would be like now if he'd had a family. If his life hadn't been turned upside down. Jeremy shook his head and sighed.

To his left were the beachfront stores and venders that sold a wide variety of junk, from weird masks and cheap guns, to beach umbrellas and surf boards.

Los Santos really had an interesting contrast in product demand.

Jeremy approached the store where his contact usually dropped his payments at. As he got closer he noticed a tall man standing there talking to the very nervous looking vender. Jeremy grew cautious and quickly darted behind a stack of surf boards. This wasn't good. No one could know this was his drop zone, or even that he came here. Unless...

Jeremy peeked between the boards and observed the tall man. Something about him seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it. The man wore a dark leather jacket, one that Jeremy swore he'd seen before. The man's arms were crossed in front of him, making him seem more menacing. Jeremy noticed something else then too, the civilians walking around seemed to shy away from the man, fear in their eyes.

Who was this guy?

Jeremy was still observing when the vender's eyes flicked in his direction. He almost groaned aloud at the slight movement.

_Great, now my cover's blown!_ he thought. Sure enough the tall man whirled around and spied Jeremy standing by the surfboards. Jeremy felt his blood drain from his face and freeze in his veins. The tall man wore a black skull mask.

_Holy fucking shit!_

The man seemed to smile evilly under the mask and turned to the vendor. Suddenly there was a gun in his hand and the loud report from it echoed across the pier. The vendor's head exploded, sending blood and brain matter everywhere. The tall man didn't seem phased by it, or the blood spattering his clothing, but turned towards Jeremy and approached him. Without seeming to Jeremy looked around, trying to determine his best mode of escape. As the figure got closer Jeremy decided to do something stupid.

He ran.


	3. The Vagabond

Jeremy weaved through the crowd of screaming running people, running as fast as he could. He knew this was probably the worst option to choose but he rolled with it anyway. He figured that using the crowd as a shield/cover he'd be safer.

He thought wrong.

The sound of machine gun fire pierced the air, people around Jeremy dropping left and right to the ground, lying in pools of their own blood. Jeremy gagged and quickened his pace. He knew the man now and why everyone was so afraid of him. His trademark skull mask had given him away and Jeremy really wasn't at all surprised that he'd opened fire on the crowd trying to hit him.

He was the feared Vagabond of the Fake AH Crew. And the Vagabond showed no mercy.

Jeremy mentally kicked himself for not recognizing him earlier. He'd seen the Vagabond before, earlier today in fact, outside the bank. It was him who'd been in the alley when he'd noticed the Crew pull up.

"My day just keeps getting better and better," Jeremy muttered as he hopped onto his motorcycle and tore off down the boardwalk. For a moment he felt safe, that he'd escaped and was home free! This feeling was soon crushed when he heard the motorcycle engine revving behind him. He yelped and dodged to the side just as a bullet zipped past his head.

"Fuck!" he yelled and took a sharp turn down a street that led to the main road. He zigzagged between cars on the road, doing his best to shake the Vagabond off his ass. Unfortunately the man pursuing him was relentless. At least he put the gun away. Jeremy risked a look back, regretting it as soon as he did. The sight that met his eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life. Vagabond was behind him on his motorcycle, wind whipping his jacket open, revealing a kevlar vest beneath. The skull hid the man's expression but the wicked smile was evident. Then the worst part. The deep, evil laugh that emerged from the Vagabond sent chills up Jeremy's spine.

He snapped his gaze back to the road and concentrated on losing his tail. He knew these streets, he shouldn't have too much trouble thinking of an escape route. Unfortunately the Vagabond also knew the streets and stayed with him, somehow, no matter what tricks Jeremy used. There was no escaping.

The Vagabond always got his target. It was a well known fact. Jeremy tried to distract himself by recalling all the info he could about the Vagabond. Basically the guy was an unstoppable wraith, never giving up on eliminating or hunting a target. He hardly ever spoke either, but there was a rumor that he said something to each of his victims before he killed them. That wasn't a disturbing-as-fuck thought. The Vagabond had mysteriously showed up about five years ago, at first doing his own thing and killing whenever and whomever he pleased. Then things changed when he joined one of the most feared Crews in Los Santos: the Fake AH Crew. His killing was more organized and precise, except the occasional time or two he'd need to vent his anger. The Crew's success rate during their heists had skyrocketed since he'd joined. Getting on the Fake's or even the Vagabond's hit list was basically an autographed ticket to hell from Satan himself. Jeremy had once run a few small jobs for the Crew, back a few years before the Vagabond. He wondered why they'd send the creature after him.

Jeremy noticed where the chase had led him, seeing the graffiti around and the gang members scattered here and there. A grin appeared on his face. This could work! Quickly he turned down a dark alleyway and gunned it. As he expected the Vagabond followed. Jeremy got enough of a lead and then came to a stop near the end of the alley. He saw some of the reclining gang members stand to their feet and look at him like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. Jeremy hoped they were wrong and calmly waited till the figure of the Vagabond appeared.

"Fakes! It's the Fakes!" he yelled and pointed towards the hastily approaching Vagabond. The gang members looked that way and that was all Jeremy needed. He knew this was Creatures territory and that they'd recently had some run ins with some of the other gangs including the Fakes. He pulled away on his motorcycle and tore off down the streets, weaving in and out of alleyways and backroads. He finally chanced a look back and saw that the Vagabond was no longer chasing him. He hoped his little distraction for him had worked. Quickly ditching the bike Jeremy hopped aboard a bus and then hoofed it to his apartment after checking himself for any sort of tracking devices.

He collapsed on his couch and sighed in relief and then began to laugh. He'd just managed to elude one of the most dangerous men in the state! Not many had had that pleasure. He sighed with relief. Something landed on his lap and he almost jumped, but then saw it was only Booker. He smiled and pet the feline, causing him to purr loudly which summoned Scooter. As Jeremy sat there with his cats he was almost brought to tears at the thought that he'd almost not returned home to them. True he had a couple neighbors check in on them daily but he was still worried that one day he'd never return and the cats would die. Another thought occurred to him, and this one made him boil with anger. There was no way the Vagabond or Fakes could've known where he was.

Someone had sold him out!

Jeremy went through his contacts in his mind, wondering which one or ones would've betrayed him. Knowing the Vagabond though, and after witnessing the murder of the vender, the contact who ratted him out was probably dead already.

But why take that chance?

                               ~  
                               ~

The Vagabond stood in the alley, breathing heavily with the excitement of battle, a wicked and crazy expression on his concealed face. The ground was littered with the bodies of the gang whom his target had tried to unleash upon him. He'd known this was a trap from the beginning, knowing the gangs in this part of town weren't exactly friendly towards the FAHC. But he'd had a long day and felt like killing something so he'd followed his target into the alley. He knew this wouldn't really help the situation the Fakes were in with the Creatures and some of the other gangs, but it felt so good!

The Vagabond slowly allowed the red to leave his vision and began to see clearly again. Looking around he nodded his approval at the body count and then turned and mounted his bike again. The day was slowly becoming night and he had two options now: return to Geoff and explain what happened, who the target was, and then continue the hunt in the morning, or, finish the hunt tonight and get it over with. He liked the idea of option number two.

Right on time his cell phone rang, the ringtone of Africa making him involuntarily tap his foot and sway a little before he answered.

"Well? You find out who this asshole is?" Came Geoff's voice.

"Yep." Vagabond grunted, his deep voice sounding a little strange to him after not speaking for so long.

"And?" Geoff asked, pressing the matter forward.

"The target's name is Jeremy Dooley. He's a kid only about Gavin's age, maybe younger. Apparently he's some sort of hacker-sniper-pickpocket genius. Grew up on the streets and knows his way around, that's how he was able to elude us the first time. I tracked him down through some of his contacts I found and now I'm on his trail," Vagabond said. This was probably the most he'd talked to Geoff in a long time. There was silence on the other end followed by Geoff muttering to himself.

"Mother fucker!" he exclaimed finally.

"I take it you know this kid?" Vagabond asked.

"He ran a few small jobs for us awhile back, before you joined. I've been trying to recruit him for awhile but he never responds. He's a good kid," Geoff explained.

"So you want me to bring him in?" Vagabond asked, his voice emotionless. He almost let his disappointment leak into his voice but he controlled himself.

"Don't kill him, we could use him. Yes bring him in. He's too valuable to let someone like Funhaus or the others gangs to recruit. One way or another, he'll join the Crew," Geoff said. Vagabond nodded and then hung up. He was a little peeved now that he couldn't kill his prey, but Geoff never said he couldn't rough him up a bit. The way Geoff talked about him it almost seemed like a father talking about a son. Geoff did have that annoying quality about him, seeing the Crew as his family and treating them as such. The Vagabond never understood it. His mind wondered to a time before he was the Vagabond, a time when things weren't so...murdery. He could barely remember that time, but he could remember the path the Vagabond had led him on, and so he shrugged it off. He resumed his search for the kid, knowing that he would not return to the penthouse or any of the safe houses without his target in tow. He grinned to himself.

_I sure as hell hope he puts up a fight!_ he thought as he zipped through the streets of Sin City.

                               ~

Jeremy finished packing and then sat on the couch, sadness washing over him. He didn't want to leave this place but it wasn't safe, not while the Fakes were out for his blood. He'd written a note to his neighbor saying he was going on a business trip and would be gone for awhile and asked if he could care for his cats. He left enough money in an envelope on the table to pay for food, litter, and payment for at least a month. He hoped he wouldn't be gone that long. He decided to play one last time on his Xbox, hoping that Trevor and Matt were online. As soon as he logged in he saw the two names and smiled.

"Hey guys how's it going?" he asked when they were all in a party chat together.

"Not much JDoolz, just saving the universe from the Flood," said Trevor, the sounds of gravity hammers and rocket launchers and Master Chief's voice shouting "Overkill!" in the background. Jeremy chuckled.

"And I'm saving my fridge from the oppression of the pizza lord. Your tyrannical reign is at an end Pizza Lord!" said Matt, his mouth full. At this both Jeremy and Trevor burst out laughing. Matt joined in after he finished chewing and swallowing. Jeremy and his friends played for several hours, Jeremy trying  to enjoy every minute, knowing that it might be awhile before he would hear his friend's voices again. Finally cutting the evening short, Jeremy signed out and took one last sad look around the apartment. He gave his cats a long hug and then sadly hauled his duffle bag to his shoulder and walked to his door. Suddenly his phone went off and he stopped to check it. His security cam app had given him a pop up notification telling him someone was at the front of the apartment complex. He checked the feed and froze.

The Vagabond was standing there trying to unlock the door with a lock pick set. Jeremy felt his blood run cold and then snapped into action. He ran to the bedroom and opened the window, hopping out onto the fire escape. He hastily hauled ass down it and into the alley, hot-wiring the closest car and taking off down the street.

_Holy shit! Holy fucking shit!_ he thought as he drove. This was getting too close. How did he find him so fast? Jeremy face palmed.

_Idiot! If he got to your contacts then he knows who you are. And any dipshit can look up a name on Google!_ he thought to himself. Jeremy mentally kicked himself for not going by JDoolz when dealing with clients. Luckily he didn't seem to have a tail so he drove towards one of his safe houses, ditched the car a few hundred feet away from it and then made his way to the safe house he'd set up during his times on the street. No one, not even his contacts knew of this place. There was no way in hell that he'd be found here.

He hoped.


	4. Safe at Last?

Geoff set the phone down and sighed heavily. Running a hand through his hair he thought about what he should do. The kid Jeremy, or JDoolz as he'd been known to the crew, was a cunning little guy. Not only was he highly skilled as a sniper and computer hacker, but he was also an expert pickpocket and could blend into a crowd easily, vanishing without a trace. This kid was valuable and Geoff could use him on the team. When JDoolz had worked for him, Geoff was skeptical at first, the kid only being about 19 at the time. But the he'd proved himself a hard working and efficient individual. Geoff only hoped that the Vagabond wouldn't mess him up too badly.

"You okay there Geoff?" came Jack's voice. The large man was standing at the counter watching his boss with intense brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. Geoff smiled.

"Yeah just tired and having to make leader decisions. Wears a guy down," he said and rubbed his face. Jack patted his friend on the shoulder and offered a comforting smile.

"When do we get to blow shit up?" yelled Michael from the couch. He and Gavin were playing halo on the Xbox, and Michael was ready to burn the whole world to the ground, raging at everything that pissed him off or made no sense.

"Later on Micoo, right now is just a cutscene," Gavin said and laughed. Michael glared at the Brit.

"A cutscene? Really? I thought it was a fucking movie I was watching now! Of course it's a damn cutscene you fucking idiot!" he yelled. Gavin giggled and the two went back and forth about sarcasm and how different it was in Britain. Jack and Geoff shook their heads in amusement at the Lads' antics. Geoff looked over to Ray who was staring out the window, his pink DS held at his side. Geoff felt sorry for the kid. He wasn't himself lately and the only member of the Crew he really opened up to was, ironically, the Vagabond. The two were nearly inseparable.

"Hey Ray, how ya doing?" Geoff asked, walking over and putting a hand on the young Puerto Rican's shoulder. Ray shrugged.

"I'm alright I guess. 4/20 was a hoot today," he joked. Geoff could see that even though he was joking, Ray really did have something on his mind.

"You know, I may not be the Vagabond, but if you ever need to talk, about anything, please feel free to pull me aside. I'm here for you man," he said. Ray smiled and looked at his boss.

"Thanks Geoff. I'll be okay, really. Just sorting through some stuff. And I'll be sure to hit ya up if I need a chat," he said, turning back to the window. Geoff knew he was being blown off, but he patted the Lad's back and then walked to his room to sleep. Laying in bed, Geoff's mind ran a million miles and hour, concerns for each member of his Crew, thoughts for future jobs and heists, how to handle the recent reappearance of Jeremy, how to convince the kid to join the Crew, and all the recent troubles with crews like Funhaus and the Creatures. He sighed again. Being the leader of one of the most feared Crews in Los Santos was a tiring and taxing job. The man's eyes finally fluttered shut and he fell into a peaceful slumber, one he greatly needed.

                                       ~

Jeremy collapsed onto the box spring bed in exhaustion, ready to sleep for a month. After making sure everything was safe he'd walked into the safe house, an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city, abandoned by time and humans alike. Jeremy had stumbled upon the safe house a few years ago and instantly claimed it, using it during his longer jobs, or when he just needed an escape from everything going on. It was his sanctuary. Thank Christ he'd remembered to reset the traps he had hidden around the joint, just in case someone decided to get nosey. He checked the security cams that were sending a live feed of the building's perimeter to his phone. So far nothing. He allowed himself a brief moment to feel relieved. If the Vagabond did show up, Jeremy would have a few surprises for him. Laying back down on the bed he closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened today. Jeremy was a light sleeper, which he'd developed over his time of living on the streets, one of the many handy abilities he'd picked up. He sighed and stretched, then scratched his beard. It had been a long day and the adrenaline from being hunted was beginning to wear off. Slipping into the void of darkness that is sleep, Jeremy wished momentarily that things could be different.

                                      ~  
                                      ~

The Vagabond threw the couch over on its side and growled in anger. Once again the little piece of shit had been one step ahead of him and had just slipped though his fingers.

_How could he possibly have known I was coming?!_ he thought angrily. The only thing that had met him when he'd broken into the apartment were two adorable cats. The Vagabond took a moment to calm down and reached down and pat one of the cat's head. He smiled slightly when the animal began purring and rubbing up against his legs. Then he went back to searching the apartment. The note on the table said the kid would be gone for awhile on a business trip. The Vagabond huffed. Lamest and oldest excuse in the book. This kid puzzled him. He walked into the bedroom and saw that the drawers were open and the closet was half empty of clothes. The kid left in a hurry. He was about to leave when he noticed the bedroom window was open. He narrowed his eyes.

_Bingo!_ he thought and walked to the window. Seeing the fire escape he immediately kicked himself for not thinking ahead of time about scoping the joint out.

_You're slacking Vagabond, getting sloppy._ he told himself as he made his way down the fire escape. He found footprints in the dirt and gravel of the alley and followed them. They were small, maybe a size 10 shoe, but the heel indents were deep, like the kid was heavyset, or was carrying something heavy. Like a duffle bag or suitcase. The tracks led to the side of a building where they ended, and tire tracks replaced then. The kid had snagged himself a set of wheels. Great. Tracking him would be harder now. The Vagabond whipped out his phone and took several pictures of the tire tracks, sending them in a quick message. He returned to the apartment and sat on the couch after he placed it back in its proper place. He looted the fridge and fired up the Xbox.

_Might as well make myself at home till I get the results back._ he thought. He pulled the skull mask up enough to free his mouth to be able to eat and drink. He sighed and signed into Xbox Live and started playing some Halo Reach. After a few minutes his phone went off and he read the message. He smiled darkly. The tires belonged to a dark green Saturn station wagon, and now he had the license plate number.

_Okay JDoolz, now it's my turn!_ he thought and turned off the Xbox and walked out of the apartment. The chase was back on, and this time, his prey would not elude him.

                                 ~  
                                 ~

Jeremy started, woken by some far off noise. He quickly checked the security cams but they came up with nothing. He sighed and rubbed his face. He checked his watch and groaned. It was nearly 2am! He got up and walked to the fridge that was against the wall, gazing at the available food and finally settling on some leftover pizza. He sighed when he saw the only thing to drink was Diet Coke. Pulling out a can he shut the fridge door and popped the can open. Taking a long and well needed swig he silently cursed himself for not restocking the beer from the last time he was here. Walking back to his bed he sat there for a moment, finishing his pizza while gazing at the security feed. Still nothing. He was still on edge and couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Tucking his Bowie knife under his pillow he laid the Diet Coke on the bedside table and then curled up again, trying his best to sleep. For the first time in months, the man dreamed.

  
_He was only a year or two old, his parents were smiling and laughing as they watched him run and play on the playground. They sat on a bench on the outskirts of the playground, holding hands and talking to each other, while keeping an eye on their son. His father's giant cowboy hat perched on his head, almost swallowing it up as the boy giggled and screamed as he and his friends played. Jeremy looked and saw his grandparents walking along the path that circled the park and waved to them. He saw a black van pull up to the curb and a group of men in black and wearing ski masks jump out. There were loud noises and screams, chaos everywhere. Parents ran for their children and people fell to the ground either dead or severely wounded. Jeremy watched this all unfold and began to worry. He cried for his mom and dad but they didn't answer. He started to run forward when a familiar hand grabbed his arm. He looked up into the terrified eyes of his grandpa as the man hurried him along to safety. He was told to stay hidden behind a fallen tree with his grandma as his grandpa ran to find Jeremy's parents. His grandma was crying into her cell phone, talking to the cops and Jeremy started crying. Everything was scaring him and the loud noises hurt his ears. He covered his ears and curled up on the ground against his grandma, squeezing his eyes shut and wishing the noise to go away. After the noise died down the sounds of sirens and crying filled the park as Jeremy's grandma led him towards their car. His grandpa was standing by an ambulance weeping, as two gurneys were wheeled up by two pale-faced medics. Jeremy broke from his grandma and ran towards his grandpa, freezing at his side when he saw what was on the two gurneys. His parents stared out into space blankly, both fear and pain on their faces. Blood covered their heads and chests from where the bullets had hit them. There was nothing they could do._

_"Momma? Daddy?" he asked, his small voice confused. His grandpa pulled him away as the medics zipped up the black body bags around his parents, Jeremy screaming and struggling to reach them, to hold his parents and have them tell him everything would be okay._

In his bed Jeremy tossed and turned, a pitiful cry escaping his lips and sweat starting to bead on his forehead. Maybe it was his exhaustion, or maybe it was something else that made the young man sleep deeply for the first time in years, reliving the horror he'd witnessed as a child; the blank stares of his parents and all the blood haunting him, the moment when the bags were zipped up hiding them from his sight forever, the last glimpse he had of his parents.

The Vagabond stood there and watched his prey toss and turn, the small sad cries reminding him of a time long ago before he was the Vagabond. Shaking the feeling aside he noticed the kid had a can of Diet Coke on the table beside the bed and quickly snatched it up and took a long swig. The dark liquid soothed his insides and made him almost sigh audibly. Almost, but that would give him away to his prey. After silently disabling several traps outside and hacking into the security cams and making them run a continuous loop of a normal outside, he'd snuck in. He'd been clumsy and tripped over a crack and had fallen to the floor, which had woken his prey. He'd hidden himself as Jeremy had woken up and then gotten food from the fridge. Now as he stood over the kid, a small part of him wanted to just leave and let the kid be. After all, he really didn't do anything wrong right? He'd just been doing his job when they'd shown up. In a way he wasn't all that different from the Vagabond himself, or any of the other Fakes for that matter. No wonder Geoff wanted him in the Crew so badly. Shaking off the feeling of compassion the Vagabond looked around and found what he'd been looking for. A nice tall metal beam in the middle of the room that went all the way to the ceiling. He grinned evilly and then turned back to his prey.


	5. You're Coming With Me

Jeremy was woken by the hand that clamped over his mouth. The man struggled and tried to pry the hand off his mouth but the grip was firm. His eyes widened when he saw the Vagabond standing over him. His hand instinctively went for the knife under his pillow and he managed to slash out at the Vagabond's leg before the man gripped his arm roughly and jerked it so violently that the knife fell from his hand, Jeremy moaning in pain.

Jeremy wasn't ready to be fitted for a pair of cement shoes so he fought harder, twisting and kicking, his cries muffled by the Vagabond's hand. He tried to bight the hand over his mouth or lick it and make the man release him but that only resulted in the hand pressed harder over his mouth and his head forced roughly into his pillow. He felt a weight on his chest as the Vagabond sat on him, knocking the air out of him and impeding his struggles. His arms were pinned to his side by the Vagabond sitting on him, freeing the man's other hand to reach back for his own knife, which he pressed menacingly against Jeremy's throat.

"Shhh," came the order from under the skull mask. Jeremy was terrified but still tried to buck the larger man off him. The knife pressed harder against his throat and he moaned in pain. Finally he gave up, knowing that he'd lost.

"You're lucky my boss wants you alive kid, otherwise I'd be cutting you up right now for the shit you've pulled!" the Vagabond growled. His voice was deep and dripped with danger. Jeremy's eyes widened. He'd just heard the infamous Vagabond speak! He was so fucked! The mask seemed to grin wickedly then.

"Of course, he never said you had to be in one piece when I bring you in. So in case you were thinking about doing something stupid or pissing me off..." Vagabond said and then ran his knife across Jeremy's forehead, allowing the blade to cut him just below the hair line, a small line of blood forming. Jeremy winced in pain and moaned. "Please do so I have an excuse to hurt you in every way I can!" Vagabond finished, smiling wickedly under his skull mask. Satisfied that his captive wouldn't be any trouble, he put the knife away.

"I'm going to let go of your mouth, and you'd better keep it shut or I'll personally sew it shut myself and then bleed you, I don't care what Geoff wants he'll get over it," he growled. Jeremy whined fearfully but nodded. The Vagabond remover his hand slowly, but pressed his arm across the kids throat to pin him to the bed. Jeremy took a couple quick breathes through his mouth and thought about how he could escape. He was ordered to stand after the Vagabond slid off him and he did so. He was patted down and any weapons on him were quickly removed.

"You should probably start cutting back on the pizza and cookies," the Vagabond said, his voice actually sounding a little playful, like he was attempting a joke. Jeremy frowned and huffed indignantly.

"Are you calling me fat?" he asked quietly so as not to anger the man. The Vagabond glared at him for a second for talking but then grunted.

"Not fat really, more...burley. Stocky even," he said. Jeremy just sighed and shook his head.

"I'm proportionate to my height," he said.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," the Vagabond said in a bored voice.

The Vagabond shoved him roughly towards the metal pillar in the middle of the room and then pushed him to the floor, back to the pillar. Jeremy yelped in pain as his arms were yanked painfully behind him and he felt handcuffs slip onto them. The Vagabond then squatted in front of him and stared at him for a long while. Jeremy grew uncomfortable and shifted nervously.

"So...you're not picturing me in my underwear right now are you? Cause that would be a little creepy and weird," he asked cautiously, trying to crack a grin despite his terror. The Vagabond snorted and shook his head.

"Kid, you've no idea the amount of restraint it's taking for me not to kill you right now. I've hunted you down for nearly two days now, hardly sleeping or eating, and then I get orders to bring you in alive. Do you know how much I want to kill something right now?" the Vagabond growled, clenching and unclenching his fists. Jeremy swallowed and flinched.

"The Creature members I led you to not quite cut it?" he asked his voice cracking slightly. The Vagabond shook his head.

"No but the sentiment was nice," he said.

The Vagabond grabbed his feet and Jeremy instinctively struggled, hoping his captor wouldn't cut off his toes. Growling menacingly the Vagabond whipped out his knife and brandished it at Jeremy, who froze. The Vagabond then took Jeremy's shoes off, crossed his ankles and then double ziptied them together. Jeremy winced at the pain and the Vagabond chuckled. Even if he wasn't supposed to kill the kid, he could still have some fun with him.

"So what happens now?" asked Jeremy, not even trying to hide his fear at this point. The Vagabond sat back for a second and gazed at his captive, trying to decide if he was secure enough.

"Now? Haha! Now I'm going to do something I've been wanting to do for days now, and in order for me to do it peacefully you're going to have to shut the fuck up!" he said, reaching into the dufflebag he'd brought and pulling out a roll of silver-grey duct tape. Jeremy swallowed and shook his head, knowing what was running through the Vagabond's mind and not liking it one bit. His beard and goatee already beginning to hurt.

"No no no! No need for that! I'll be quiet I swear! No need to go to extrea...mmffffsss!" he began to say but the Vagabond ignored him, plastering the tape over his captive's mouth and wrapping it around his head four times before tearing it and pressing the end smoothly into the rest. He then placed some tape on Jeremy's chest, right below his pecks, and wrapped it several times around the kid's torso, arms, and the beam. Tossing the tape back into his bag he gazed upon his work and nodded, satisfied that the prisoner wasn't going anywhere.

"As I was saying, now that I know you won't make a peep or struggle free, I'm going to take a damn nap! And when I wake up your ass is coming with me back to base so my boss can have his little chat with you!" he said and then turned and marched to the bed. On his way there he opened the fridge and fished out a couple cans of Diet Coke.

"Hope you don't mind if I make myself comfortable," he snickered at Jeremy who mumbled something incoherent. Chuckling darkly to himself the Vagabond walked to the bed, took a swig of his drink, and then laid down. Adjusting his skull mask to allow him to sleep comfortably, he slowly slipped into a peaceful slumber, satisfied that he'd gotten his job done, his prisoner wasn't going to escape or make noise to annoy him, and that Geoff wouldn't have to get on to him about bringing in a dead body. The last part made him a little sad but he'd get over it.

                             ~

Jeremy sat on the floor tied to the beam for a good hour plotting his escape and waiting for the Vagabond to be sound asleep before he began to struggle and try to free himself. The handcuffs would be easy to break out of thanks to years of practice. The hard part would be freeing his feet and torso without making any noise. Turning his head as far as he could he was pleased to find that the beam he'd been tied to wasn't dulled around the edges, it was edged. Working swiftly he shifted his body silently back and forth, rubbing the tape against the edge of the beam. With some nimble finger work he managed to free his wrists of the handcuffs and almost had a heart attack when they nearly clattered to the floor, catching them just in time. He breathed a sigh through his nose and went back to squirming around in an attempt to break the tape. The Vagabond had made the smart decision when he'd wrapped the tape around him multiple times. Grunting softly Jeremy felt the tape begin to tear and redoubled his efforts. Dragging his knees up to his chest and rocking his freed arms he heaved his body forward and puffed out his chest at the same time. The tape tore with a rip that sounded to Jeremy like a bomb going off. He froze and sat in silence for a second, hoping the noise hadn't woken the Vagabond. When nothing happened and he heard the gentle snores of his captor he relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled the tape off his chest and arms and then stretched his aching limbs.

Spinning around he rubbed the zipties securing his feet against the beam until they finally snapped. Breathing heavily now from the exertion and the intensity of the situation Jeremy smelled the sharp pungent smell of the duct tape covering his mouth and closed his eyes, knowing the amount of pain he was about to inflict on himself was going to be worth it in the end. Finding the end where the Vagabond had rubbed it into the rest he slowly pulled it away and unwound the tape from his head. At first it wasn't so bad as he hadn't gotten to the part that was attached to his skin or hair. But then a sharp pain at the base of his neck told him he was there and slowly he pulled it away from his skin, moaning quietly. He squeezed his eyes shut when the tape covering his beard and goatee started peeling away and couldn't help the small yelp of pain that escaped his now gag free mouth as the last of the tape finally peeled away. He froze for another second hoping he hadn't fucked himself with his cry. Still the Vagabond slept on.

He sighed and collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, staring up at the ceiling for a second trying to rest and let the pain ebb away. He flexed his jaw which cracked from being held in place so tightly for so long and licked his lips, tasting a little of the leftover adhesive from the tape and spitting the taste out of his mouth. He felt his beard with his hand and prayed that it was all still there.

That was when the whole situation finally hit him. Being chased by a psycho criminal, who somehow found him, being so close to death, fearing that the Vagabond would do terrible things to him like torture him or worse, hearing the Vagabond speak which no one ever did and lived to tell the tale, and now the new knowledge that the most feared Crew in Los Santos wanted him for some reason. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off he began to shake uncontrollably from the fear that gripped his heart. He put a hand over his mouth to stifle the strangled cry that threatened to escape his lips. Jeremy reached for his shoes and put them back on and then looked around for his gear. His bag was nearby and his knife and hat were by the bed.

The bed where the aforementioned psycho killer was quietly snoring.

He gulped and crept forward as quietly as he could. He picked up his cowboy hat that had once been his fathers and then bent down to pick up his knife. As he gripped the familiar handle he looked up at the Vagabond still somehow asleep. For the briefest of seconds a thought entered his mind.

_Slit his throat! He won't be a threat to you anymore and you'll be doing Los Santos a big favor! Do it! Don't be a bitch! Kill him!_

Jeremy looked down at the knife in his hand, the blood from the wound he'd inflicted on his captor earlier still on the blade. The idea was tempting. To end the life of his enemy would be quick and easy. He could do it. He held the knife over the Vagabond's throat, not touching the skin or getting close enough to wake him. He should do it. But something held Jeremy back. Maybe it was the fact that killing an unarmed man in cold blood would be too easy, not a challenge. Maybe it was some light in the darkness of his conscious that told him he should forgive and forget. Whatever it was, it held the man back and he slowly withdrew the knife. He sighed softly and stood to go. Putting his hat on his head he grabbed his bag on his way out.

Sneaking out of the house while dad sleeps. What is this fucking high school? he thought to himself as he slipped out of the building and started walking back to the car he'd stolen earlier. For some reason the thought that he'd almost killed the Vagabond terrified him, and he began shaking again. He tried to convince himself that it was all part of the job and that he indeed should have killed his enemy. But the truth was, he actually admired the Vagabond, no matter how fucked up he was. He'd secretly admired the Fakes for a long time, wishing that he would one day be as good as them. And the fact now that Geoff wanted him for some reason, to the point of sending his deadliest Crew member to kidnap him, kinda flattered him a little. Despite his fear the man smiled slightly. It was the nicest gesture that anyone had ever done for him.

Reaching the car Jeremy checked it for any sort of tracking device that the Vagabond may have planted on it. He did eventually find one inside the wheel well of the front left tire. Smiling to himself he was just about to chuck the thing when he felt something crash into his head, knocking him to the ground as he cried out in pain. On instinct he reached for his knife as the world around him danced with stars and those birds you see in cartoons. His wrist was stepped on roughly and he felt a knee plant itself in his back, pinning him to the ground, a cloth smelling of chloroform was pressed over his face. Jeremy tried to fight back in his groggy state and a weak moaning protest escaped his lips, muffled by the cloth pressed over his mouth and nose. As the darkness took him, Jeremy saw a pair of black combat boots step into his line of vision and a rough voice penetrated the silence.

"Load this meat sack up boys, boss wants him for questioning," the voice said as Jeremy slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness.


	6. Captive

Jeremy groggily came to and shook his head to clear it. He had a splitting headache and he felt like his brain was trying to force its way out of his ears. He blinked his eyes several times but the darkness was still there. Probably a blindfold or hood he mused. He tested his limbs to see if anything had been damaged while he was under. He felt for the second time that day that his arms were bound behind him. He was sat in a very uncomfortable metal chair that already was making his ass fall asleep, his feet bound to the legs of the chair. He also felt a tightness in his chest and guessed that rope had been tied around him. He flexed his jaw and tried to lick his lips, but felt that his mouth had been gagged somehow.

_I just cannot catch a motherfucking break in this damn city can I?_ he wondered to himself. The room he was in was neither cold or warm, just like a normal in between. He strained his ears for any background noise like traffic or trains, but nothing reached his ears. He couldn't feel his hat on his head anymore which pissed him off and he knew that his knife was long gone, probably still lying on the ground outside the warehouse.

_Some fucking safe house that was!_ he thought to himself as he struggled a little to test the strength of his bonds. They were pretty tight. Off in the distance he heard the echoes of footsteps that slowly got closer and voices became audible.

"Wonder what the Fakes wanted with him?" came voice one, a male voice that wasn't deep or soft but somewhere in between the two.

"Who knows? But if they're so keen to snatch him up I'm sure he'll be worth a pretty penny to them," said the second voice, also a male's but this one was a little deeper than the first voice.

"Is that what Greene wants to do with him?" asked voice one.

"I don't know man. I just know that he wants to have a little chat with him as soon as he wakes up," voice two said. Jeremy didn't like the sound of that and stiffened slightly when the footsteps stopped close to him, and the sound of a heavy door being unbolted and opened reached his ears. He found that his breathing had quickened and he tried to calm it. The footsteps sounded again, walking up to him and he felt a hand grab the hood that was over his head and pull it off. Jeremy blinked in the bright light that stung his eyes.

"Wakey wakey shorty, the boss wants to meet you!" said voice one and then both voices chuckled.

                                   ~  
                                   ~

The Vagabond slept peacefully. He'd had a long few days and needed the rest, and with Jeremy finally secured and with no chance of making a sound to wake him, he was able to relax. The kid actually wasn't that bad and Vagabond hated to admit it but he admired Jeremy's skills and will to survive. He secretly hoped that the kid would be willing to join the Crew, if only to implement his skills into the group. Vagabond knew just how hard it was to live out on the streets alone, being a first hand witness to the struggle, and knew that even though Jeremy didn't know it, he wanted something more. To be a part of something bigger, a Crew. To have allies and friends he could count on and for protection and security. The Vagabond had taken his time but he was glad that Geoff had recruited him.

_You going soft there Vagabond? Relating to the kid now?_ he thought.

_Well, yeah. He and I aren't that different, and I was pretty much in the same boat as him when Geoff found me._ he thought back to himself. By now he was used to talking and thinking to the voices in his head.

_What about Ray?_

In his sleep the Vagabond moaned silently.

_What about Ray? It's not like I'm falling in love with Jeremy and kicking Ray to the side! I'll always be there for him!_ he thought back.

_Perhaps..._

Before he could think back to himself there was a sound that stirred him from his sleep. He opened his eyes and listened for a second. The Vagabond leapt from his bed as soon as he heard the muffled cry, knife in one hand and pistol in the other. He looked around confused for a second, narrowing his eyes, then he saw that Jeremy was gone, the handcuffs and scraps of duct tape lying on the floor. The kid's bag, hat and knife were also missing.

_You've got to be kidding me! MOTHERFUCKER!_ he thought and charged towards the door. He peeked out and when he saw nothing he dashed out into the night, knowing Jeremy would go for the getaway car he'd stolen. Luckily he'd had enough sense before walking in on the slumbering criminal to plant a tracker on the vehicle. As he approached where the car was parked he heard an engine purr to life and saw taillights disappearing from the scene. He swore to himself and quickened his pace towards the car, surprised when he found it still there.

_The fuck?_ he thought, then felt his foot hit something. He looked down and saw the cowboy hat that Jeremy had worn, and his knife and bag lying there too. The Vagabond examined the ground and saw that there was a slight impression where a body had lain as well as several sets of footprints. Snatching up the kid's items he tossed them into the backseat of the car and then reached for his tracker. But it wasn't there. He searched the ground around the area but couldn't find it. Puzzled and more than a little pissed off, he got behind the wheel of the car and sat there pondering his options, possible scenarios as to what happened to Jeremy, and where the hell his tracker had gone. Going out on a limb he whipped out his phone and checked the status of his tracker.

It was moving.

_The little bastard genius! He wants me to find him!_ he thought as he started the car. He took his time, knowing that his tracker would lead him right to Jeremy. He chuckled to himself.

_It's Jeremy now huh? Not your prey?_

It was true. For some reason he'd started thinking of Jeremy as a person and not just another sack of meat to kill. Maybe he'd started to like the kid, after all, they weren't that different. The irony of the situation hit him. First he'd been hunting down Jeremy, and now he was out to save him. It was almost poetic.

Almost.

His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he followed the tracker. The red pulsating dot on his phone finally came to a stop. The Vagabond drove past the stop and drove a few more blocks before parking Jeremy's car and walking back, keeping to the shadows and moving like a ghost. The signal came from a warehouse that was on a wharf actually not too far from where the Vagabond had first spotted Jeremy. Pulling out his knife the Vagabond scouted around and counted the guards patrolling the perimeter. Only six. Good, that would make things easier. The problem was how many were on the inside and how many were near Jeremy?

Slinking up to the first guard, a man by the looks of him, the Vagabond briefly recalled learning about WWII assassinations in history when he was a child. Quick and easy. He grabbed the man, one hand over his mouth, and expertly slid his knife blade across the man's throat, severing skin and jugular. He waited a minute until the man stopped struggling and then laid him on the ground, shoving him behind some pallets. Damn it felt good to kill!

                              ~

As Jeremy's eyes adjusted he gazed up into the eyes of the two men. One had brown facial hair like his own and could easily have been mistaken for his father, while the other was clean shaven and wore thin glasses. They smiled down at him.

"Adam, go get Bruce and tell him the prisoner is awake," ordered the one with glasses. The one called Adam shrugged and walked out of the room. The other man turned back to Jeremy and glared.

"What the Fakes want with you is beyond me. But if you're worth something to them then you must be of some use," he said. Jeremy narrowed his eyes and struggled. As he'd guessed earlier, a rope had been wound around his chest and arms, securing him to the chair.

"Grrrrfffffppp!" he growled through his gag. He could feel it in his mouth, a cloth or something tied between his teeth but it felt like there was something else covering it.

_Probably that damn duct tape again!_ Jeremy thought. At this point he might as well shave since there'd be no point to having patchy facial hair. The man cocked his head and reached forward towards Jeremy face. Jeremy shook his head and pulled away, knowing that it'd be better to remain quiet than have tape ripped off his face...again. The man chuckled and then patted Jeremy cheek.

"You're cute you know that? Can't make up your mind whether you want to speak or not," he said. Jeremy glared at him. He was a hacker, crack shot sniper, and dangerous murderer, he was anything but cute.

"Lawrence, stop antagonizing the prisoner. It creeps me out," said a voice. Lawrence turned to reveal a man with brown hair and a long beard walking into the room with Adam following. Jeremy recognized him as Bruce Greene, the leader of the Funhaus crew. Jeremy almost groaned. These guys weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.

"So, this is the kid that the Fakes so desperately want. What's your name kid?" Bruce asked. Jeremy gave him an 'are you fucking kidding me?' look which resulted in both Bruce and Lawrence laughing hysterically.

"Adam, take the fucking gag off him," Bruce said after he'd calmed down. Adam nodded and walked over to Jeremy. Adam was taller than Jeremy, typical as most men were, but wasn't that big. If worst came to worst Jeremy could take him. He felt the tape pull off his mouth and felt the air hit his lips. Adam gave him a warning look before sticking his fingers under the cloth around Jeremy's cheeks and pulled the cloth out of the man's mouth, pulling it down to fall loosely around Jeremy neck. Jeremy breathed in through his mouth and swallowed, his tongue stinging from being exposed to the air and his mouth dry from being cracked open for however long he'd been out.

"Better?" Bruce asked sarcastically as Adam stepped back.

"Prick," Jeremy spat. Bruce shrugged and then slapped him.

"Let's try to be civil okay buddy?" he asked.

"Civil? I'm tied to a chair, you kidnapped me, your pervy boyfriend here creeps the fuck out of me. Please, enlighten me as to what part of this situation is civil," Jeremy growled. Lawrence glared and took a menacing step forward but Adam placed a hand on his shoulder. Bruce chuckled.

"You've sure got spirit and spunk kid. Look on the bright side, I didn't let Lawrence play with you before I talked to you," he said, his voice growing darker. Lawrence chuckled and Jeremy felt nauseous.

"What do you want sicko?" he asked.

"Let's start with something simple. What's your name?" Bruce asked.

"Hughe Janus," Jeremy said flatly, drawing a giggle from Adam. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Look I really don't want to be here all day and I need something to work with when I call the Fakes, so how about this," Bruce said and punched Jeremy in the gut, causing the man to gasp for breath and yell in pain. "I won't make this an unpleasant experience if you cooperate and I can promise that you'll walk away with only maybe a few bruises and a cut or two."

Jeremy gasped for breath and ran through all the ways he'd enjoy killing Bruce once he'd gotten free. Bent over double he saw that his chair was bolted to the ground so he wouldn't be able to stand, even with his legs tied to the legs of the chair.

"Let's try again, what's your name?" Bruce asked. Jeremy took a few deep breaths and braced himself.

"Semor Buts," he said. The punch this time was to his face and he knew the next time he'd be tasting blood.

"Lawrence, check his pockets and see if he's got a wallet or something," Bruce ordered. Lawrence approached Jeremy with a wild look in his eyes. Jeremy wanted to vomit.

"Touch me and I'll cut off your balls and shove them so far up your ass you'll choke on them," he warned. Lawrence paused and looked a little surprised, but then laughed and started feeling around Jeremy's pockets till he retrieved a wallet. With a look of victory he patted Jeremy's cheek again and then flipped open the wallet. Gazing at the ID he frowned.

"What is it?" asked Bruce as he stepped forward slightly. Lawrence glared at Jeremy as he handed his ID to Bruce.

"He look like a Diego Martinez to you?" he asked. Jeremy smirked.

"What? I was adopted," he joked. Bruce was now glaring at him.

"Okay funny boy, so you don't have a name. What do the Fakes want with you?" he asked. Honestly Jeremy had no clue and had been asking himself this very question ever since the Vagabond started hunting him.

"They want me to dance for them at one of their bachelor parties," Jeremy said flatly. The men stared at him.

"I'm their plumber." Still nothing.

"They want me to kill the governor," Jeremy said more seriously, enjoying this. Bruce sighed and signaled to Lawrence who walked behind Jeremy and grabbed his hair, taking his head back painfully. Jeremy let out a yelp of pain and Bruce stepped up to him, holding a nasty looking Bowie knife.

"Now, I asked politely. Gave you plenty of chances. But if you're just going to treat this like a joke, maybe we need to show you how serious we are," he said darkly and held the knife to Jeremy's throat. The man couldn't move and knew he'd been successful in pissing Bruce off. Bruce gently drew the knife along Jeremy's face and throat, down his neck and down this chest, poking ever so slightly into the squish of Jeremy's belly, and then pressing the knife against his crotch. Jeremy's eyes widened and he shook his head and almost whimpered. Bruce smiled.

"There, now we're on the same page. So tell me, what's your fucking name?" he growled. Jeremy swallowed. He had to play it right or else it was bye bye to his dick.

"Jeremy," he said quietly.

"See? That wasn't so hard. Good boy," Lawrence said and patted Jeremy chest. Jeremy glared up at him.

"I'm going to kill you. And I'll make it slow and painful perv," he said. Lawrence chuckled but did nothing.

"Now, what do the Fakes want with you?" Bruce asked. Jeremy shrugged, as best he could tied and being held by Lawrence.

"I honestly have no clue. I was working a job, they showed up and I guess I ruined it for them and then I hightailed it out of there. Don't know why they'd want me except to give me a pair of cement shoes," he said. He purposefully left out the part about being hunted down by the Vagabond and being held prisoner by him before these yahoos took him. Bruce didn't quite seem convinced.

"I really have no clue. I've been trying to avoid all you assholes my whole life unless it was to run small jobs. You know I hate gangs. I'm more of a rogue," Jeremy continued. Bruce frowned but nodded.

"Okay. I can work with this. Sit tight while I call Ramsey," he said and patted Jeremy's thighs as he stood. What was it with these guys and touching him? Bruce whipped out his cell phone and dialed a number. Holding the phone up to his ear he glanced at Lawrence and signaled him. Lawrence reached down to the cloth hanging around Jeremy's neck and pulled it back up over his chin and back between his teeth.

"I sure hope Ramsey doesn't want you as bad as it seems. It'll be a real shame if we have to gut you before we've had time to get to know each other," Lawrence whispered into Jeremy's ear and slid a hand up Jeremy's chest and then ran a finger over the man's cheek. Jeremy shuddered and jerked away.

_Vagabond, I never thought I'd wish this, but please fucking show up!_ Jeremy thought to himself as he sat there, his hope slowly draining.


	7. The Mask of Hades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! This chapter contains some graphic content and implied rape.

Geoff looked at his buzzing phone and cringed. He knew the number belonged to Bruce Greene and had no desire to talk with him right now. His day had been a roller coaster of chaos. First Gavin had "accidentally" set the kitchen on fire, the ensuing squawks and fire alarms, not to mention the emergency water spigots throughout the apartment exploding, waking Geoff from a somewhat peaceful sleep. Then Jack forgot to mention that they'd run out of coffee the day before and hadn't restocked yet. Ray was being moody and seemed to hold everyone at arms length, Michael wouldn't stop shouting at everything, and now the head of an opposing Crew was calling his cell. This day was just getting better and better. Deciding that nothing could possibly piss him off more than he already was he decided to answer the call.

"What?" he snapped his response.

"A little hostile there Ramsey?" Bruce's annoying voice making Geoff want to set a puppy on fire.

"Cut the shit Bruce what do you want?" he said, not even trying to mask the impatience in his voice.

"All business with you. Fine I'll play along with you. I have a guy here that you might be interested in," came Greene's voice. Geoff rolled his eyes.

"I already told you I don't hire male strippers," he said.

"Oh I don't know, I think you'd have quite an interest in this guy. In fact I think you'd bend over backwards to get him," Bruce's voice teased.

"Bruce, you have thirty seconds before I hang up. Get to your point!" Geoff growled.

"Does the name Jeremy ring a bell?" Bruce's voice came back, this time serious. Geoff thought for a second before realization hit him like a freight train. His eyes widened and he looked up at Jack who'd been watching the whole time quietly.

"What are you doing with Jeremy you fuck?" Geoff exclaimed.

"Oh we found him wondering around at night and took him in," said Bruce, his voice again going to that irritating playful tone.

"Put him on the line, I wanna talk to him," Geoff said.

"No can do buddy, he's a little tied up right now. Don't worry he's safe. But I can't help but wonder why he's worth so much to you?" Bruce said. Geoff wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the man.

"That's my business," he growled.

"Must be worth a pretty penny if the great Geoff Ramsey wants him so bad. Be a shame if something happened to him before you could find him," Bruce teased again. Geoff knew exactly where this was going but played along.

"What do you want Greene?" he asked and sighed.

"See, I love that about you Ramsey. You're willing to negotiate and be reasonable. Unlike that animal you keep around or those pesky brats," came Bruce's voice.

"Yeah I'm one in a fucking million. Get to the point," Geoff said.

"Fine. I want to meet and discuss a price, as well as an agreement. Only when we settle will I turn the kid over to you," Bruce said. Geoff bit his lip in thought.

"Fine but I choose the place and choose who comes. Give me 24 hours and I'll contact you," he said finally and hung up. He was now boiling over with a rage that made Michael seem like a care bear. He wanted to kill something so bad. Unfortunately he didn't have the time.

"So, Funhaus has Jeremy?" asked Jack. Geoff nodded.

"24 hours isn't a long time Geoff. We need to come up with a plan. We need to give the Vagabond more time," Jack continued. That was another thing. Where the hell was the Vagabond?! Last Geoff had talked with him he'd been hot on Jeremy's tail and was moving in. Now, almost two days later he finds out that a rival gang has snatched up Jeremy and nothing about his Crew member to be heard. He knew the Vagabond wasn't dead, that would take a miracle to happen, but what if he were also held prisoner by Funhaus? Or the Roosters, or the Creatures or one of the other gangs? He couldn't imagine what they'd do to him if they had him.

"Geoff?" Jack asked gently. Geoff looked up at Jack.

"Try to make contact with the Vagabond while I gather the others. Meet me in thirty minutes in the planning room," Geoff finally said and walked off to find the Lads. Jack quickly pulled out his phone and shot the Vagabond a quick text.

**Where are you? Funhaus has Jeremy be careful.**

After sending the text Jack waited two minutes and shot off a similar message, this one sounding more urgent. After another two minutes without response Jack shot off a final text and then used the remainder of his time to pace the room while waiting to hear from the Vagabond. Just as he was walking towards the planning room his phone buzzed. He quickly looked at the message sent from the Vagabond's phone.

**Handled**

                              ~

  
When Bruce hung up he smirked down at Jeremy. Lawrence chuckled and Adam shuffled his feet.

"Looks like ol Geoffrey is willing to pay for your ass," Bruce said. Jeremy glared at him and struggled half heartedly against his bonds which caused Lawrence to laugh.

"It's so cute when they try," he said and put his hands on Jeremy's shoulders. Jeremy flinched and growled into his gag. He was not comfortable with this situation at all.

"Adam, why don't you go get a drink? And while you're at it can you get me a Mountain Dew?" asked Bruce.

"Sure thing," Adam said quietly and walked to the door. When he reached it he looked back at Jeremy with an apologetic, almost sad look. That wasn't a good sign. The warning bells in Jeremy's head were ringing at an alarming volume and he looked around nervously. The hands on his shoulders suddenly started massaging his shoulders and rubbing them.

"We were given 24 hours till our meeting. What should we do to pass the time?" asked Bruce, squatting down in front of Jeremy. The man shook his head and mumbled something.

"Now if you were to say, give me more information to work with, I could stop Lawrence here from doing something rash. But if you don't cooperate I can't promise he won't do something unpleasant," he said. As if on cue Lawrence slid his hands down from Jeremy's shoulders to his chest and rubbed them slowly all over the man's chest. Jeremy thrashed and struggled trying to pull away from the man behind him. At a sign from Bruce, Lawrence stopped and replaced his hands back on Jeremy's shoulders.

"Now, let's try this again," Bruce said and pulled the gag out from between Jeremy's teeth and down to hang loosely around his neck again.

"Why do the Fakes want you?" he demanded coldly.

"I already told you! I have no fucking idea what the damn bastards want with me! My money is riding on revenge for fucking up their heist," Jeremy exclaimed. Bruce shook his head.

"Wrong answer. Wanna try again?" he said darkly. Jeremy swallowed and glanced back at Lawrence who was grinning at him.

"I don't know what to tell you. I'm a nobody criminal who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't tell you anything else because there is nothing else!" Jeremy said. Bruce stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and pulling the gag back up over Jeremy's chin and between his teeth. Pulling Jeremy's head down and forward, Bruce tightened the knot of the cloth behind Jeremy's head and then stood.

"I tried to help you. But your stubbornness is your downfall. I'll leave you alone here with Lawrence for a little while and after he's had some time with you maybe you'll be more willing to cooperate," he said and patted Jeremy's cheek. Jeremy's eyes went wide and he shook his head.

"Ffrrrrck mmou!" he yelled as Bruce walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Jeremy knew he was fucked, the creep behind him would no doubt do something terrible to him that Jeremy didn't even want to think about.

"There there, relax. I hate it when a guy is tense," Lawrence said walking around front of Jeremy and pushing him back in the chair, hands on the front of Jeremy's shoulders. Jeremy swallowed as Lawrence gazed into his eyes. The stare was dark and cold.

"Now, I won't hurt you if you just give us what we want. It's that simple. I don't want to hurt you but I will if you force me too," Lawrence said after a minute, his voice actually sounding genuine.

_Right, I'M the one forcing you._ Jeremy thought.

"Now, we'll start simple and I'll ask yes and no questions. All you have to do is nod or shake your head and be truthful. That sound good to you?" Lawrence asked, gently rubbing Jeremy's shoulders ever so slightly. Jeremy scowled but nodded after a second.

"Okay, here we go," said Lawrence.

~  
~

The Vagabond shoved his cell phone back into his pocket after replying to Jack. Thank god he'd remembered to put it on silent! At his feet were the bodies of three more guards he'd killed. He was inside now and was stealthily making his way across the hangar of the warehouse. Killing the guards had been too easy, almost embarrassing. Easy kills didn't appease him, he preferred it when his prey ran. He listened carefully trying to hear if Jeremy was nearby. His tracker had shown that Jeremy was somewhere up ahead but there was a lot of open ground and lots of rooms between him and Jeremy. Ugh, he would probably have to take a prisoner and question them or use them as leverage. As if on cue a tall man about his height with brown hair and a beard and goatee walked out of a door. He didn't have the look of a hardened gang member, instead he looked sad. The man closed the door and put his head in his hands and trembled a little.

"What's happened to us? We never used to be this way," he said aloud. The Vagabond suddenly recognized the man. He'd do as a hostage. As the man shook his head and started walking the Vagabond dashed forward silently and grabbed him. Spinning him around he pinned the man up against the wall, an arm pressed hard against the man's throat. He signaled the frightened man to be quiet. He nodded and the Vagabond loosened the pressure on the man's throat.

"Long time no see Kovic," he mumbled. Adam looked at the Vagabond startled for a second and then he smiled and visibly relaxed.

"The Vagabond. Damn it's been awhile!" he said quietly. The Vagabond smiled under his mask.

"It sure has. How's the gang?" he asked. Adam's face fell and the Vagabond knew it wasn't good.

"They've changed Vaga. Bruce has crossed lines that should never have been crossed. Lawrence is a monster, James is cold and keeps me at a distance and Matt has stopped talking. It's not good," he said. The Vagabond almost felt sorry for Adam. The two had once been friends and Adam had even worked with the Fakes for awhile when the Vagabond had first started before joining Funhaus. He still hadn't fully forgiven him for leaving the Fakes but he understood.

"I suppose you know why I'm here?" he asked Adam changing the subject. The man looked up at him with a sad expression.

"You're here for Jeremy," he said simply. The Vagabond nodded.

"Why do you guys even want him?" Adam asked.

"Can't tell you that and you know it Kovic. Tell me where he is. We're friends so I'll let you live, you have my word," the Vagabond said. Adam looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"You know, Bruce will kill me if he finds out I told you," he said. The Vagabond almost flinched.

"That's why we need to make this look good," he said. Adam nodded.

"He's through that door, down at the end of the hall there's an old vault looking door, behind it is a cell holding your friend. Bruce is there but I'm not sure for how much longer, and Lawrence is there. He's about to..." Adam stopped, his voice cracking.

"What? What's he about to do Adam?" the Vagabond asked quickly, growing worried for Jeremy. Adam shook his head.

"Just get to him fast! Be careful there are cameras in the hall. Security will respond in a matter of minutes if they see you," Adam continued. The Vagabond chuckled.

"That won't be a problem if I have a hostage," he said. Adam looked up at him with a worried look but then nodded. He trusted the Vagabond.

"That would work I supposed," he said.

"Okay, but you've got to sell it," the Vagabond said. Adam smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll make it look like the real deal," he said. The Vagabond smiled.

"Just like the old days," he said and shoved Adam towards the door.

~  
~

Jeremy had been shaking his head to most of the questions, only answering a couple truthfully that wouldn't give away anything vital. Lawrence shook his head and reached for the table beside them, or more specifically the tray of tools and knives on the table. Jeremy knew that he was in trouble when Lawrence selected a nasty blade with a serrated edge.

"I know you've got something useful up there in the ol thinker," he said and tapped the knife against Jeremy's forehead. "Do I have to cut it out of you?"

Jeremy just glared at him. He'd rather die than give up any information about his skills or that the Fakes had sent out the Vagabond to hunt him down and bring him back. That was his only chance for rescue, not to mention if the Vagabond were already here it'd put him in danger. Lawrence sighed.

"Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way then," he said and pulled Jeremy's sleeve on his tshirt up over his shoulder. Jeremy was just wondering what he was going to do when Lawrence slid the blade across the meaty part of Jeremy's shoulder, slicing the skin and allowing blood to pour out of the wound.

Jeremy screamed in pain and pulled away from Lawrence as best he could. The man smiled down at him. He put the knife back on the table and looked at Jeremy again.

"Now, I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth and you're going to spill everything you know, or the next knife is taking your tongue," he said darkly and chuckled at Jeremy's widened eyes and grunts of protest. He reached up and pulled the cloth out from between Jeremy's teeth and down around his neck.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you psychopathic pervert?!" Jeremy yelled. Lawrence laughed and punched Jeremy in the face. He landed a few more punches and then stopped. Jeremy spat blood onto the floor and glared up at his interrogator, bruises already forming and one of his eyes starting to swell shut.

"Tell me why the Fakes would want you! Are you good at something and they see you as valuable? Did you see something you weren't supposed to see?" Lawrence asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"I told you before, I'm a nobody. They probably want me dead so you'd be doing them a favor by killing me. So go ahead and do it already because there's nothing else to fucking say!" Jeremy yelled at him. He felt his anger and frustration boiling up inside him. He was done with this over dramatic kidnapping and interrogating bullshit. Lawrence sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"You know, I like you kid. You've got spirit which is rare to see these days. Oh sure some people act brave and tough but you hit them a little, maybe bleed them a bit, and they'll be crying like babies for the pain to stop and are willing to sell out their own mothers to save themselves. Not you though. You've got the real thing," he said as he ran his hand over Jeremy's chest.

"You know, for a short chubby guy, you're really cute when you're pissed," he said.

"For the last fucking time I'm stout! I'm proportionate to my height. What is it with you people always pointing out my size?" Jeremy snarled. Lawrence looked a little surprised.

"What do you mean by 'you people'?" he asked.

_Oops! Fuck!_ Jeremy thought. Lawrence narrowed his eyes and then quickly punched Jeremy in the face again. He pulled up the man's shirt over his head and then turned and reached for a knife. He spun back to Jeremy and held the knife up to his now exposed chest.

"Tell me what you meant and I won't turn your sexy chest into slices of bacon!" he said. Jeremy struggled, knowing that he'd fucked up and that his world was about to get much more painful. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at Lawrence.

"No," he said. Lawrence looked sad and then ran the knife across Jeremy chest. The cut wasn't deep but it still hurt like hell. Jeremy screamed in pain.

"Tell me!" Lawrence yelled, making another cut. Jeremy cried out in pain.

"TELL ME DAMMIT!" Lawrence yelled again and made another cut. He slowly stabbed the knife into one of Jeremy's thighs as well before he threw the knife to the table and reached for Jeremy's belt. Jeremy struggled and screamed protests as Lawrence unbuckled his belt and tugged his pants down to his knees, pulling his underwear with them. Lawrence had a wild crazed look in his eyes that scared Jeremy and froze his blood. This could not be happening! Lawrence reached his hand out towards Jeremy's dick and Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the grip. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, Jeremy gritted his teeth and did his best not to give Lawrence the satisfaction of making a sound as the man worked him over. Suddenly there was the sound of alarms. Lawrence looked up and then back at Jeremy. He hesitated then stepped away. Jeremy was fighting back tears and trying not to tremble but failing.

"I'll be back to finish our session soon handsome," he said and quickly planted a kiss on Jeremy's cheek. Jeremy responded by quickly head butting Lawrence, who came away with a bleeding nose. Jeremy did feel a small ounce of satisfaction seeing the blood.

"Motherfucker! You broke my nose! You little bastard!" he roared and punched Jeremy in the face again. As he turned to go Jeremy said something.

"Good, it's an improvement to your damn face!" he spat. Lawrence turned back to Jeremy and signaled the man to be quiet. He ran to the door holding his nose. As he reached it the sounds of gunfire reached his ears and he hesitated. He was reaching for the doorknob when the door flew open, knocking him to the ground. Jeremy looked up and gasped.

It was the Vagabond! And he didn't look happy. Then again, with a skull mask can anyone ever look happy? Jeremy almost cheered for joy.

"T..the Vagabond? Here?" stuttered Lawrence as he crawled backwards away from the harbringer of death. The man stalked towards Lawrence. He was covered in blood. For some reason, even though he was still frightened by him, Jeremy was relieved to see the Vagabond.

"Took you fucking long enough," he joked and managed to crack a painful smile. The Vagabond looked at him and then snapped back to Lawrence.

"Please, no don't!" Lawrence yelled and ran to the table and grabbed a knife. He brandished it fearfully at the Vagabond. The man laughed, a deep, dark laugh that reverberated around the room. Jeremy shuddered but still felt relief. That is until Lawrence switched tactics and darted behind him, pulling his head painfully back by the hair and holding the knife to his throat.

"Don't come any closer or I'll kill him! You know I will!" he yelled. Jeremy winced in pain as Lawrence pressed the knife hard enough into his throat to draw a thin line of blood to add emphasis to his words. His eyes met those of the Vagabond.

_Huh, blue eyes, never really noticed that before._ He thought. The Vagabond halted and stood there. Lawrence chuckled.

"Now, drop any weapons you have and slide them over here!" he commanded. The Vagabond didn't move for a second but after Lawrence added a little extra pressure to the knife and Jeremy whimpered in pain, he obeyed. A handgun, six knives, a shotgun (how the fuck did he carry that around?!), some explosives, a set of brass knuckles, and a tomahawk later and the Vagabond was now unarmed.

"Here, put these on," Lawrence commanded and tossed a set of handcuffs at the Vagabond who slowly put them on. Lawrence made him tighten them a little to be sure. Chuckling Lawrence stood and walked over to the Vagabond holding the knife out menacingly.

"Not so tough without your weapons now are you big boy?" he laughed. The Vagabond stood there silent, staring at Lawrence. The man walked up to the Vagabond and reached up to the mask.

"I wonder what the legendary Vagabond looks like under the mask," Lawrence said and pulled the mask up off the face of his enemy. Jeremy didn't understand why the Vagabond just stood there and did nothing. Lawrence trembled slightly as he pulled up the mask, excitement filling him at seeing the face of the famous killer. He gasped and stepped back at what he saw.

Staring back at him was another skull, only this one painted onto the Vagabond's face with red, white, and black face paint. Sandy blonde strands of hair fell across the painted face, and the sky blue eyes had now turned a dangerous icy blue.

"What the fuck?" Lawrence exclaimed. The Vagabond looked him dead in the eye and bared his teeth. In that moment Jeremy could swear time slowed down. He watched as the Vagabond darted forward, grabbed Lawrence's arm holding the knife and twisting it forcefully inward, watched as the knife fell, heard Lawrence scream in pain, saw the Vagabond snatch the knife before it hit the ground and stab Lawrence in the leg, then as he sunk the knife into Lawrence's opposite foot up to the hilt, pinning him to the floor. It was all over within a matter of seconds, Jeremy hardly believing it. Lawrence screamed in pain and tried to pull the knife out of his foot. The Vagabond kicked him which sent him flying painfully into his back. He dug in Lawrence's pockets till he found the key to his cuffs and freed himself.

The Vagabond turned to Jeremy and walked towards him, pulling the black skull mask back over his face. He picked up one of his knives off the floor. Jeremy was surprisingly calm as the Vagabond walked towards him. He felt the man cut the ropes that held his chest and the zipties binding his hands and feet. Jeremy painfully pulled his shirt down and quickly pulled up his pants and underwear and redid the belt. He looked up at the Vagabond tears starting to fill his eyes again.

"Thank you. Seriously," he said softly, his voice breaking. The Vagabond stared at him and then handed him the knife. After retrieving his weapons he walked to the door. When he reached it he turned and looked at Jeremy.

"I'll be waiting outside when you finish," he said and then closed the door.


	8. The Cabin

The Vagabond stood in the hallway, waiting for Jeremy to open the door. He knew that Jeremy would do what he thought best with Lawrence, he'd simply encouraged one form of justice. He'd been horrified when he saw the state Jeremy had been in when he found him. If Jeremy didn't kill Lawrence he most definitely would! He shook his head and tried not to tremble with rage. After he'd taken Adam hostage they'd walked down the hall, almost running into Bruce. The Vagabond had commanded that Bruce release Jeremy to him and they go about their business. Bruce's response was less than agreeable as he pulled out a handgun and shot at the Vagabond, apparently not caring about the safety of Adam. He'd managed to wound Bruce by shooting him in the arm but then more people had shown up and Bruce had fled. Giving Adam an apologetic look he knocked him out and then proceeded to kill anyone who came into the hall, the bodies stacking high and the blood running thick in the halls. He then walked to the door Adam had told him about.

Standing in the hall now he slightly regretted letting Jeremy deal with Lawrence, wanting to dispose of him himself. The man should not be allowed to live. He sighed and smiled slightly. The way Jeremy had looked at him, like he was a fucking hero or something when he'd come to rescue him made him smile. No one had ever looked at him like that before. The guy wasn't that bad.

He felt sorry that he hadn't gotten here sooner, and felt slightly responsible for the condition Jeremy was in and what he'd had to go through, what Lawrence had done to him, or almost done to him. He heard screams from behind the door and smiled. He was starting to really like Jeremy. He reminded him of himself. After a few minutes the screaming stopped and Jeremy opened the door and slowly limped out, a blank expression on his face. His hands were covered with blood and he was wiping them off with a rag. He handed the knife back to the Vagabond.

"Thanks," Jeremy said quietly again. The Vagabond took the knife and nodded. He glanced over Jeremy and peered inside. The scene wasn't pretty but he had to admit, Jeremy was very skilled and he admired his handy work on what remained of Lawrence.

"We'll talk after we get out of here," he said and Jeremy nodded. The man didn't walk as fast because of his wounded leg and each step hurt his other wounds so the going was slow but they eventually managed to creep out of the warehouse and back to the Vagabond's car without running into too many gang members, those they did run into the Vagabond quickly eliminated without remorse. The Vagabond didn't protest when Jeremy collapsed in the passenger's seat. Driving along vacant roads and back alleyways the Vagabond remained silent, while Jeremy sat and tried to keep himself together. He'd tied a clean cloth he'd found around the knife wound in his leg, but Vagabond noticed he was still bleeding badly. Jeremy was on the edge of breaking. Looking at the landscape he saw they were in what passed as countryside in Los Santos.

"So umm...w..where are we going?" Jeremy asked timidly. The adrenaline from the day was wearing off and the pain began filtering in making him wince. He was getting pale from a lack of blood as well and Vagabond sped up.

"Somewhere safe," the Vagabond said after a few minutes of silence. Jeremy nodded and the two lapsed into another long silence. It made Jeremy feel uncomfortable. When he couldn't stand it anymore he finally turned to face the Vagabond.

"Why didn't you kill him?" he asked. The Vagabond remained silent for a moment and Jeremy gave him space to answer in his own time.

"His life wasn't mine to take," he finally spoke, his deep voice sounding strange in the silence.

"What do you mean?" asked Jeremy.

"I had no quarrel with him other than he was a member of a rival crew and had kidnapped you when I was trying to finish a mission. He wronged you personally in the worst ways possible. He was rightfully your kill," he said.

"Oh. You know, before they started...questioning me I told him that I was going to kill him," Jeremy said softly. The Vagabond nodded. Jeremy lowered his head and sniffed slightly. He wanted this to all be a nightmare; that he'd wake up safe in his bed at home with his cats. Fuck he missed his cats.

"You know, I didn't tell them anything. Mostly because I don't know what the fuck is going on. I didn't tell them you'd been sent to bring me in because I knew that they'd be ready for you when you came for me," Jeremy said softly. The Vagabond looked at him.

"Through all that, I knew in the back of my mind that you'd find me and rescue me. I knew somehow that you'd show up. And somehow, that thought helped me keep a small shred of hope," Jeremy continued. The Vagabond remained silent, not knowing what to say, only nodding.

The car pulled to a stop a few minutes later and Jeremy looked through the window with his non swollen eye and gasped. They were pulling into the driveway of a beautiful log cabin overlooking a large lake, with a dock and a small boat. There were woods surrounding the lake and near the cabin but far enough away that it wasn't creepy. Jeremy looked at the Vagabond who was getting out of the car.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"This is the safest place I know. No one will find us here, you'll be safe. We'll rest here until you're better and then we'll head back to the Crew," he said. Jeremy frowned but got out of the car. As he took a step he cried out in pain and fell to the ground. The Vagabond rushed to his side, concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked, examining Jeremy who shook his head.

"My leg, I don't think it can support me, and I suddenly feel dizzy," Jeremy said. The Vagabond knew that Jeremy didn't have much time so he acted quickly. Scooping the smaller man up, the Vagabond carried him into the house, Jeremy feeling awkward the whole way. The house was beautifully furnished and looked like it had plenty of electricity. Jeremy couldn't help but gawk at the place.

"I take it this is new for you?"

Jeremy snapped his attention back to the Vagabond, who was watching him, head tilted slightly, blue eyes gazing quizzically at him from behind the mask. Jeremy shook his head.

"I've never stayed in a place so beautiful! I've been in fancy rooms and whatnot in hotels before while running a job but never got a chance to enjoy it. This is...amazing!" he said smiling. The Vagabond chuckled.

"I'm glad you like my home. I think I have a first aid kit around here somewhere. Let's get you stitched up," he said and carried Jeremy down a hall. Jeremy nodded but continued to gaze around, barely able to process this being the infamous Vagabond's house. The Vagabond walked into a very nice looking bathroom and headed towards the sink counter. Jeremy hadn't noticed till now that he'd wrapped his arms around the Vagabond's neck and he quickly removed them as he was set atop the counter. The Vagabond examined Jeremy's wounds as he fetched a first aid kit from the cabinet. Jeremy hadn't realized how much blood he'd lost until he saw his pale face in the mirror and saw how soaked in blood his shirt was. First they washed the blood off his face with a rag, and the Vagabond gave him some meds to help the pain and swelling go down.

"Umm, I know you just experienced hell and shit, but if we are going to clean and dress the wounds..." the Vagabond said awkwardly, pointing to Jeremy's shirt and pants and Jeremy nodded. He slowly and hesitantly took off his wet sleek shirt, wincing at the pain. The shoulder cut wasn't deep so after washing it gently the Vagabond simply wrapped it in a bandage and let it be. The three cuts on Jeremy's chest were a different story. They'd clotted a little but we're still bleeding ever so slightly. Waiting for Jeremy's permission the Vagabond reached out with the washcloth and began cleaning the wounds. Jeremy hissed in pain but clenched his teeth. After the cuts were cleaned the Vagabond saw that only the last one needed stitches.

"This will probably hurt the most. Do you want something to bite down on or something?" he asked Jeremy.

"I've had enough gags in or on my mouth for a good while thanks. I'll just grit it out," he said with a small smile. The Vagabond shrugged and went to work stitching Jeremy. He admired Jeremy's resolve as he sewed the kid back together. Then Jeremy hesitantly lowered his pants down to knee level and pulled the leg of his boxers up to reveal the stab wound there on his thigh. The Vagabond flinched and gently began cleaning it, then wrapped it in bandages. It only took a few minutes and soon everything was bandaged and cleaned.

"I have some spare clothes here if you wanna wear them while we wash those," the Vagabond offered pointing to Jeremy's blood soaked dirty clothes. The man looked his clothes over then nodded, though he doubted that he'd ever get all the blood out of his shirt.

"It's better than going commando," he joked. The Vagabond didn't react but led a limping Jeremy to a dresser in one of the bedrooms. The shirt and pants were a little too big but Jeremy wasn't picky. He was shown the laundry room and where all the soaps were and then left alone to do his laundry.

Alone now Jeremy changed into the new clothes and threw his into the wash. He stayed there for a minute looking at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible and felt just as bad. He lifted his shirt and winced at the cuts. Yup those would definitely leave scars. But the emotional scares, he feared, would never heal. He walked out the door and somehow found his way back to what he assumed was the living room. The Vagabond was there standing awkwardly waiting. Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"So uh...what happens now?" he asked. The Vagabond thought for a second then sighed.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. Jeremy was about to reply when his stomach rumbled loudly and he put a hand on his stomach.

"I guess I am," he laughed. The Vagabond chuckled and then walked to the kitchen. When Jeremy offered to help he was told just to wait in the living room and rest and to make himself at home. As Jeremy sat on the couch the awkwardness of the situation hit him. He was in a house far from civilization with the most feared murderer in Los Santos who, less than 24 hours ago had tied him to a pole and threatened to kill him, ending up saving his life. He chuckled at the irony. This was also the most he'd heard of the Vagabond speaking without killing the person he talked to. Somehow though, Jeremy wasn't as afraid of him as he'd once been. In some weird twisted way he actually felt safe around the criminal. Being rescued by him must've had something to do with it.

Something on the entertainment center caught his eye and he walked over to investigate. It was a shiny Xbox One. Excitement filling him he opened one of the drawers and stared. The drawer was filled with games of all kinds!

"No fucking way!" he exclaimed out loud.

"What? What's wrong?" asked the Vagabond rushing into the room. Jeremy turned with the biggest smile on his face.

"You're a serious gamer!" he said more than asked. The Vagabond stared at him before relaxing.

"Yeah. Actually all of us in the Fakes are. When we aren't planning heists or jobs, or patrolling our territory, we're usually gaming. The Lads and Geoff are more into it but we all have fun," he explained. Seeing the excitement in Jeremy's eyes he laughed.

"Throw something in and we'll play while we eat," he suggested and turned back to the kitchen. Jeremy was shocked. The Vagabond actually seemed like a person! He browsed the games and selected Halo 3 to start; an old classic favorite. Grabbing a second controller he started up a game and waited for the Vagabond.

"Dinner is served," he heard behind him. The Vagabond walked into the room carrying two plates, with burgers and fries on each one. He placed one plate on the coffee table in front of Jeremy and then one where he was going to sit.

"Any particular beverage choice?" he asked.

"What do you have?" asked Jeremy.

"Water, Diet Coke, lemonade, sweet tea, and beer," the Vagabond listed off.

"I'll take a beer please," Jeremy said, remembering his manners. The Vagabond nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen and reappearing with a beer and Diet Coke.

"Halo huh? Good choice!" he said, Jeremy hearing a hint of excitement in the man's voice.

"You a fan?" Jeremy asked playfully.

"Favorite game!" the Vagabond exclaimed and picked up a controller. Jeremy smiled, this was going to be an interesting night.

~

"This burger is fucking amazing!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Thanks," the Vagabond said concentrating on the game. He'd finished a few minutes ago while Jeremy allowed his meal to cool. So far the two seemed pretty evenly matched, the Vagabond being more skilled with heavy weaponry and hand to hand, while Jeremy demonstrated that his skills with a sniper rifle were just as good in video games as they were in real life, as well as being quite skilled in hand to hand.

"Haven't had food this good since I lived with my grandparents! Seriously this is amazing!" he said again.

"It's just food," the Vagabond said shrugging. He was trying not to look at Jeremy's part of the screen to find him, preferring the thrill of the hunt and besides, he hated screen watching.

"Yeah but it's damn good food!" Jeremy said and finished his burger off quickly so he could kill the Vagabond's player. The two played for hours, the Vagabond actually shaking off his persona a little and acting like a normal nerd. After awhile a timer went off and the Vagabond checked his phone.

"Time for your meds," he said simply and handed Jeremy a bottle of pills. Jeremy took the bottle thankfully and downed two of the tablets. The swelling in his face had gone down a bit but still looked nasty and hurt when he moved certain facial muscles. Yawning Jeremy checked his own phone.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed.

"What?" asked the Vagabond on alert. Jeremy shook his head.

"Nothing it's just...it's almost 3 am," he said.

"Really? Damn. Time really does fly when you're having fun," he said. Jeremy smiled at the thought of the Vagabond having fun. Well, fun that didn't involve killing and dismembering real people.

"And when you're on the run from crazy gangs and when the most dangerous criminal of them all is hunting you?" he said with a grin.

"Oh please, flattery will get you nothing with me," the Vagabond said and the two laughed.

"Well, I guess we should sleep then so you can rest up," the Vagabond said, turning off the Xbox and standing.

"You're not gonna tie me up this time are you?" Jeremy asked a little nervously and cracked an awkward smile. The Vagabond looked at him for a moment.

"Well I do have some rope and duct tape in the hall closet," he said off handedly. Jeremy paled more than he already was and swallowed.

"It's a joke. I think you've been through enough for one day. And I have a feeling you won't be running off," he said. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Don't fucking scare me like that!" he said laughing. The Vagabond laughed too and showed Jeremy where the room he was to sleep in was. Turning the Vagabond was just leaving when Jeremy called him. He turned back and raised an eyebrow.

"Night," Jeremy said and waved a little uncomfortably. The Vagabond nodded and then left the room closing the door behind him. He walked back to the living room and sat down with a sigh. Taking the skull mask off he gazed at it in his hand for a minute before standing and washing his face off in the kitchen sink and then washing the dishes from their meal. Jeremy wasn't all that bad. He felt a little bad for how he'd thought about him a few days ago and how he'd treated the man, but after rescuing him, the Vagabond felt a little responsible for Jeremy now, especially since he was younger and was a little more sensitive than the Lads.

No. Not sensitive. The Vagabond paused, trying to think of a word to describe Jeremy's mindset and personality. Maybe gentle or understanding? He reminded the Vagabond of what Ray would've been like if all the shit that happened to him hadn't happened. Thinking about Ray reminded the Vagabond he needed to check in with Geoff and he could talk to Ray while he was at it.

The phone rang twice before Geoff's groggy voice snapped through the speaker.

"This better be important or else someone is going to die!" he said. The Vagabond chuckled.

"I vote Gavin," he said. There was silence from the other end and then Geoff's response.

"Vagabond? Thank Christ! Where have you been? Is Jeremy okay?" he asked much more awake now and in a gentler tone.

"Jeremy's going to be fine, he's just been beat up a bit but I think he'll be okay, and no I didn't do it. I'm fine too by the way thanks for asking," Vagabond said flatly.

"What happened with Funhaus? I'm supposed to have a meeting with them discussing Jeremy's ransom tomorrow," Geoff said.

"It's probably not a good idea to go to that meeting. Especially after what we did there," Vagabond replied. There was a pause.

"We? What did you do?" he asked.

"Let's just say they were less than willing to release Jeremy to me," the Vagabond said smiling slightly. Geoff groaned.

"Great! Now we have to deal with that, on top of turf wars with the Roosters, the trouble recently with Cowchop, and the LSPD," Geoff said.

"Hey we chose this life. We knew the risks and what we'd have to give up. Which also reminds me, we may be in for a bit of a rough patch with the Creatures now too," he reminded Geoff.

"What the fuck did you do, blow up the whole damn city?! Anyway when are you getting back?" Geoff asked.

"I'm holed up in a safe location while Jeremy heals and recovers. They did some pretty messed up things to him Geoff. I'm surprised how well he's handling it so far," he explained.

"What? What did they do?" Geoff exclaimed.

"Nothing I want to repeat over the phone without smashing something. I'll fill you in when we get back but if you want to know, ask Jeremy. It's not my place to tell," the Vagabond said coldly.

"You know, for a serial killer, you have a really weird respect for people's privacy," Geoff said.

"Yeah I'm the fucking Pope. Put Ray on the line," he ordered.

"He's asleep man! It's nearly 4 am. You're lucky I answered," Geoff said a little saltily.

"I need to talk with him Geoff. He'll understand. Just put him on," the Vagabond said trying to be patient. Geoff sighed and the Vagabond could hear footsteps on the other end of the phone. The sound of a door opening and soft conversation reached his ears before Geoff said goodbye and good luck then handed the phone to Ray.

"Sup?" Ray asked in a drowsy, semi-cheerful tone. The Vagabond smiled despite himself.

"Hey Ray how're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm okay I guess apart from lack of sleep," he teased. The Vagabond chuckled.

"Oh but you know I can't go a minute without hearing that sexy voice of yours," he joked back.

"So why'd you wake me up?" Ray asked. The Vagabond grew serious then.

"I wanted to check on you. I know I haven't been there for a few days now. I know you don't really open up to the others and that I'm the only one you really talk to. I figured it's been rough not having someone to talk to," he explained, his voice was oddly gentle.

"It's been a little hectic and Geoff's offered his ear many times since you left. I think he's trying to get me to open up and telling me that he's here for me. I get it and all but it's not the same as talking to you. You understand me," Ray said. The Vagabond nodded.

"Do you want to talk now? I probably won't be home for a few more days but I don't want you to go without getting anything out of your system," he said. He hoped Ray would talk, the kid had been walking a dangerous tightrope since the incident and the Vagabond worried that, if left alone for too long, Ray might do something rash or stupid. He waited a few minutes, giving Ray the time he needed to think.

"There's nothing really to talk about right now. It hasn't been too bad here, the guys keep trying to cheer me up and get me to socialize. Hurry up and get your ass back here though, I miss you buddy," Ray said. The Vagabond smiled and said he would. Ray wished him a goodnight and hung up. The Vagabond walked to the couch and held his head in his hands.

He needed to get back.


	9. Nightmares and Secret Identities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: A brief flashback to the events in chapter 7 happens here! Be warned! I also apologize for how short the chapter is. Hope you enjoy!

After the Vagabond left, Jeremy lay there in the darkness. He had trouble falling asleep and felt tears threatening his eyes again. Eventually though he managed to fall asleep. Jeremy tossed and turned in bed, sweat pouring down his forehead and he whimpered pitifully. He was having a nightmare but it wasn't the normal one where he watched as his parents' dead bodies were carted away, this nightmare was different.

_He was frozen in place on the bed, only able to move his head. He looked around and saw the shadowy forms of figures around him. They looked like Lawrence and Bruce. Jeremy tried to struggle off the bed but he couldn't move. Bruce laughed and Lawrence approached his bed with the most evil look in his eye he'd ever seen. Lawrence put a hand over Jeremy's mouth and held a finger up to his mouth, then reached down and tugged Jeremy's pants down. Jeremy struggled as best he could in his frozen state and begged Lawrence to stop with his eyes. Bruce laughed again and he took Lawrence's place of holding Jeremy's mouth shut while Lawrence now used both hands to pull Jeremy's pants and underwear all the way to his ankles and then off. He ran his hands up the sides of Jeremy's torso, pushing the shirt up as he did. Jeremy felt tears in his eyes and he screamed in panic. The two shadowy forms laughed and before Jeremy knew it he was flipped onto his stomach and felt one of them sit on his back. He struggled and cried. A voice whispered in his ear._

_"I finish what I start Jeremy. Your ass is mine!"_

  
Jeremy sat up screaming and panting. He looked around the room and saw that it was empty. He found a trash can quickly and threw up into it. He quickly checked to see if his clothes were still on and when he saw they were he began trembling. He washed his mouth out in his rooms bathroom sink. Crawling back into bed he tried to compose himself but continued to tremble uncontrollably. A second later the Vagabond burst through the door, scaring him half to death. He wore his skull mask and had a knife at the ready.

"What happened?" he demanded and then looked at Jeremy. He relaxed and then sighed.

"Were you having a nightmare?" he asked gently. Jeremy nodded, shaking visibly now. The Vagabond scratched his neck and stood awkwardly for a second.

"You know, normally Jack is the one who does the whole comforting thing. But I'll give it a shot," he said. Jeremy stared at him. Did the Vagabond, feared murderer and most dangerous man in Los Santos, have a heart? The Vagabond walked over and sat on the bed, not too close to Jeremy but close enough. He put a hand on the man's good shoulder. Jeremy was still shaking uncontrollably and without thinking, the Vagabond pulled him into a hug, minding his wounds and just held him. Jeremy gave in and began crying. He didn't care.

"It was Lawrence and Bruce again. They were doing awful things. Lawrence..." his voice cracked. The Vagabond patted his head and started gently rocking. He'd seen the others do this before. When Michael learned of his fathers death, when Geoff's first wife had been murdered in front of him, when Gavin learned that he may be forced to leave the country, they always comforted each other. Sometimes they spoke encouraging words, other times they were just there to be a shoulder to cry on. The Vagabond opted for this last option as he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I've never been more scared in my whole life. I've faced death more times than I can count. I've been tortured before. But what they did to me...what they were going to do to me..." Jeremy looked up at the Vagabond.

"If you hadn't showed up when you did, I'm not sure what would've happened," he said.

"I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner," the Vagabond said softly, regret filling his voice. Jeremy buried his head in the Vagabond's shoulder and shook his head.

"You got there in time to save me, that's all that counts," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the Vagabond's shirt. The two sat there for a few minutes just rocking gently while Jeremy cried. The Vagabond was surprised at how easy this comforting thing was and made a mental note to do it more often.

"The nightmares won't stop you know. They may get worse, they may get better. But they'll never go away," the Vagabond said softly. Jeremy looked up at him, eyes red and cheeks wet.

"Thank you! For everything. I owe you everything," he said. The Vagabond smiled slightly.

"I was just retrieving valuable goods that interested my boss," he said playfully, causing Jeremy to chuckle and wipe his eyes.

"You really know how to sweet talk a hostage Vagabond," he said and the two laughed. There was a moments silence before the Vagabond spoke.

"Ryan," he said. Jeremy looked up at him confused.

"My name. It's Ryan. You don't have to call me the Vagabond anymore," Ryan said again, reaching up and removing his mask. Jeremy gasped! Ryan had amazingly blue eyes, sandy blonde hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail at the back, and his face! He could've been a model in another life.

"Whoa! You aren't gonna kill me, now that I know your secret identity are you?" Jeremy joked. Ryan laughed and playfully shoved him.

"Don't tempt me. My identity is my biggest secret. Only one other person knows my name," he said.

"Ray?" Jeremy guessed. Ryan raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah. How'd you guess?" he asked.

"Just the way you talk about him made me think you two are close. Are you guys..." Jeremy hesitated. Ryan knew where this was going.

"Fucking? No. I'm just the only one on the Crew he really opens up to so we spend a lot of time talking. Everyone says we're banging though which gets a little annoying," he said. Jeremy nodded. Ryan stood and then placed a hand on Jeremy's shoulder again.

"If you need anything I'll be sleeping on the couch in the living room. Just holler for me. Try to get some sleep and rest, it'll help you heal faster," he said and smiled at Jeremy who nodded. He had an amazing smile Jeremy noted.

"Okay. Thank you, Ryan," he said. He liked the name, how it felt to say an actual name instead of a title or nickname.

"Goodnight Jeremy," Ryan said and left the room after giving Jeremy one last hug, one that warmed him to the core. Jeremy laid back down and closed his eyes. He felt better getting things out of his system and the shock of the Vaga...of Ryan comforting him actually helped a lot. He didn't realize just how traumatized by the whole experience he'd been, until now.


	10. Orphaned

Jeremy's recovery took exactly 10 days. The days were filled with rest, medicine, and video games. Ryan was surprised to find that Jeremy could remove his own stitches. Then again it wasn't really all that surprising, considering the kid had grown up on the streets and had probably learned field medicine to some degree. He allowed Ryan to change his bandages even though he could've done them himself. By the time day 4 rolled around Jeremy could walk around without pain, the stab wound leaving behind a scare that would always remind him of that horrifying experience.

His nightmares continued and every time he woke screaming Ryan was there to hold him and help him calm down. He never complained or belittled Jeremy, but was gentle and caring, staying as long as Jeremy needed him before leaving. Jeremy was forever grateful for what Ryan did for him, knowing that it wasn't an easy thing to do, especially for Ryan who was obviously unaccustomed to comforting others. It was strange seeing the feared killer so willing to be compassionate.

The two spent their time talking too. Ryan learned that Jeremy was a pretty decent and serious gamer, was one of the best snipers he knew, almost better than Ray, and that he had a knack for computer hacking and pick pocketing. Jeremy learned that Ryan loved cooking and taking care of plants. He also had a cat named Edgar. The two spent hours laughing at the cat stories they told each other. They talked about everything and slowly grew closer and closer.

One day Jeremy woke up and couldn't find Ryan anywhere. Walking around the interior of the house he searched for his friend but couldn't find him anywhere, or a note as to where he'd gone. Panicking a little he went outside and found the man sitting on the dock fishing! Fucking fishing! Jeremy giggled at the thought of the serial killer taking fishing trips and wearing one of those corny bucket hats with hooks and lures on it. Ryan had turned and waved and Jeremy happily waved back as he walked up.

"Catch anything good big guy?" he asked as he stood beside Ryan. The man shrugged.

"Not really. I think I'm using an ineffective lure," Ryan said and slowly reeled his line in. Jeremy watched carefully as Ryan broke down his gear and packed it away with gentle love and care. The man stood from his deck chair and stretched.

"So how's the water this time of year?" Jeremy asked innocently. Ryan glanced at Jeremy then looked out at the crystal water.

"Pretty nice actually. Haven't taken a swim in yea..hey!" Ryan started to say, but his sentence was cut short when Jeremy shoved him, the man flying off the dock and splashing into the water flailing his limbs. When he resurfaced he heard laughing and saw Jeremy rolling on the dock laughing hysterically.

"That wasn't funny!" Ryan scolded, trying to sound upset but struggling not to smile as Jeremy's infectious laughter echoed across the lake.

"No you're right, it wasn't funny. It was fucking hilarious! The look on your face was priceless! I wish I'd gotten that on camera!" Jeremy giggled. Ryan shook his head and started to climb out of the water.

"Well thank god you didn't!" he muttered as he stood dripping on the dock. Jeremy looked up at Ryan with a mischievous look.

"Well, I may or may not have strategically placed my phone over there and let it record," he said with a smile. Ryan froze and stared at Jeremy.

"You didn't!" he exclaimed. Jeremy held up his phone and the sound of Ryan's exclamation and a splash came from it.

"I did!" Jeremy said still giggling.

"Gimme that!" Ryan demanded and lunged for the phone. Jeremy quickly jumped up and rushed to the house laughing, a soaking Vagabond hot on his heels. The two ran into the house and Jeremy darted for the bathroom. Ryan was just about to the door when Jeremy stepped out and threw a towel at him. The two paused and then began laughing as Ryan toweled off.

One day when they were talking Jeremy told him about the day he'd ruined their heist, how he'd been paid to eliminate a target wanted dead by one of the cartel leaders in the city for cheating him out of a card game. The bounty had been set high and Jeremy had snatched it up as fast as he could.

"So you're a bounty hunter?" Ryan asked.

"Sort of. I do a bunch of little things. Bounty hunting, running small jobs for Crews willing to pay like yours, hacking, I do a bit of everything. Keeps food on the table," Jeremy said.

"Damn. Now I know why you got on Geoff's radar," Ryan said.

"Speaking of which...I really don't understand why Geoff sent you to find me. I'm a nobody. The only reason I see for Geoff sending you to drag my ass back there...is to kill me," Jeremy said awkwardly. There was a silence which didn't help calm Jeremy's nerves at all.

"I don't think Geoff wants you dead. Although he was pretty pissed when he found out it had only been one guy that fucked up our heist," Ryan chuckled.

"How'd you even know it was me?" Jeremy asked.

"Jack had been flying overhead in a cargo-bob and saw you on the roof when the shot was fired. He lost you after you climbed down though. From there we tracked down some leads and checked some security cameras and found out it was you," Ryan said. Jeremy smiled.

"Well, glad at least part of my plan worked!" he said. The two chuckled. Ryan was less scary to Jeremy now, especially since he didn't wear his Vagabond getup, instead trading it for simple blue jeans and a tshirt. He looked like a person now. Jeremy had to admit, for a dude, Ryan didn't look all that bad either. Some might even place him in the 'hot as fuck' category.

"You know I really don't want to get mixed up with a Crew, right Ryan?" Jeremy asked looking at the floor.

"I know," Ryan said.

"Do you think Geoff will understand?" Jeremy asked, dreading the answer. Ryan sighed and shrugged.

"I honestly have no clue. I'm sure he'll be understanding of your wishes. But keep in mind, he sent me originally to kill you, then switched to kidnapping you. He even said that you'd join the Crew on way or another," Ryan said. Jeremy didn't like the sound of that.

"So basically I have no choice," he said feeling his hope draining. He hung his head.

"I can speak to Geoff. I'll try to get him to see your viewpoint. You probably have nothing to worry about, Geoff was just pissed off that day and was just reacting without thinking," Ryan said and paused. He took a breath and then looked Jeremy in the eyes.

"But you know Jeremy, being in a Crew isn't that bad once you get used to them. It provides protection too. Think about it, what if Funhaus were to snatch you? Wouldn't you want friends at your back?" Ryan asked. Jeremy thought about that. He remembered how relieved he'd been when Ryan came bursting in like fucking Prince Charming ready to save the day. How if Ryan hadn't been there the scenario would've ended a lot differently. It wasn't that he didn't see the advantages to being in a Crew, he just didn't want to be in one.

"I was once like you you know. I was out there alone doing my own thing. You know how vicious I was. I had to learn to survive on my own, or I would've died. When Geoff recruited me I was hesitant at first. I didn't want to give up my freedom. I lived by my own rules and that was good enough for me. It was like being on drugs, I was addicted to the thrill and freedom I had, and I took it for granted. I didn't need a Crew to slow me down and hold me back. But I eventually came around when I saw that no matter what, no matter how murder crazy I went, they'd always have my back. Geoff and Ray actually saved my life when I was riding the fence. Seeing them risk their lives for me helped me make the decision. And I've never regretted making that decision. So, even if you don't think joining a Crew is a good idea, please at least think about it," Ryan said. Jeremy looked up at him.

"It's not that. I mean, it is but it isn't. I'm so used to being out on my own and taking care of me, I don't know any other way to live. I've been a lone wolf without a pack for as long as I can remember. I don't want to have to worry about someone else and whether or not they'll survive every single encounter we may have with a rival gang, or fucking up a heist, or that maybe one day they won't come back because of me. I'm not afraid of being in a Crew, I'm...I'm afraid of being a part of something. A family," Jeremy said. Ryan stared at him for a moment.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Jeremy closed his eyes for a second before looking back. Ryan saw pain in his eyes.

"When I was little, my parents and grandparents took me to a park. It was a beautiful day. Dad gave me his cowboy hat to wear cause I always begged him to let me wear it even though it was a few sizes too big. I was on the playground with some other kids when they came. A black van filled with gang members. They unloaded on the park, killing parents and children without a care. My grandfather pulled me to safety with my grandma, but after everything settled and the creeps were gone, I saw my parents. They were being wheeled into an ambulance, but there was nothing they could do. They were dead. Gangs are the reason why I'm an orphan Ryan. They killed my family, so you can understand why I don't want to get close to anyone else and consider them as family right? I don't want to lose anyone else," Jeremy explained. Ryan sat there in silence. Jeremy looked down and began shaking.

"I don't want to be responsible for anymore people I love dying," he said quietly. Ryan looked up at him intently.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Jeremy shook his head and tried to steady his breathing. He was about to tell Ryan he'd never told anyone before in his life, not even his grandparents. He slowly looked up into Ryan's blue eyes that were staring at him.

"I'm the reason my parents are dead Ryan. They died because of me," Jeremy said ever so softly. Ryan just stared at him waiting. Jeremy took a deep breath.

"That day I'd begged my parents to take me to the park. I begged and begged until my grandparents and parents consented and took me. If I hadn't, if I'd just listened when they said no, then they'd still be alive," Jeremy continued. He felt a pain in his chest and tears welling up in his eyes. Ryan sat down in front of Jeremy and looked him directly in the eyes.

"You listen to me. It's not your fault that they're dead. Don't blame yourself. They're dead because some fucking assholes decided to go out and hurt people. It's not your fault!" Ryan said firmly. Jeremy shook his head and closed his eyes. He felt the tears falling from his eyes and then felt Ryan pull him into a hug that enveloped him. Jeremy sobbed into Ryan's shoulder like he'd done that first night when he'd woken up screaming from the nightmare. The two sat there for awhile, Ryan gently rocking the two back and forth and trying to comfort his friend, while Jeremy sobbed into Ryan's chest. After several minutes Jeremy stopped crying and calmed down, his breathing returning to normal. He and Ryan separated and Ryan gazed at him as he wiped his eyes.

Finally Ryan stood and walked out the front door. Jeremy wondered where he was going and grew curious when he heard the car door shut.

Ryan came back into the house carrying Jeremy's duffle bag he'd packed so many days ago, his favorite knife, and...

"You found my hat!" he exclaimed with joy. Ryan held it out to him and then handed over the other items.

"Where did you find these?" Jeremy asked.

"They were lying on the ground. That night when Funhaus took you they left your stuff there in the dirt. I figured you'd want them back so I put them in the backseat of the car," Ryan said and smiled, happy to see Jeremy so excited.

"Gee, thanks Ryan!" Jeremy said.

"Please tell me you did NOT just say gee! What is this, Adam West Batman?" Ryan joked earning a laugh and a, "jeepers Vagabond!" from Jeremy which made the two laugh even harder.

"Good work by the way using my tracker to help me find you. That was quick thinking," Ryan said. Jeremy smiled at the praise.

"I'd just managed to hide it in my pocket before they knocked me out. I'm surprised they didn't find it when they tied me up," he said.

"And you don't have to worry about us Jeremy. We knew the risks coming into this job and we all accepted our fates. We look out for one another. I know I'd look out for you," Ryan said, his voice fading a little at the end. Jeremy looked up at Ryan and smiled.

"Careful Ryan you're gonna make me blush," he winked and the two laughed. When Ryan determined that Jeremy was well enough to actively move around vigorously without damaging himself he taught him some hand to hand and defense tips. Finally Jeremy was healed and all that remained of his injuries were a few scars. They still hurt every once in awhile but the skin had healed. Ryan reminded himself that the scares weren't just on the outside of Jeremy's body.

"I'll make the call, if you're ready," Ryan said on the 10th day. Jeremy sat for a moment thinking and weighing his options. Finally he looked up at Ryan who was holding his phone.

"Do it!" he said. Ryan smiled and almost looked relieved as he walked to the other room and dialed the number.

"What?" came Geoff's voice. He sounded a little irritated but Ryan didn't blame him seeing as he lived in close proximity to Gavin and Michael.

"Jeremy's healed up, we'll be heading back in about an hour," he said.

"About fucking time! I'm making steaks for dinner so your asses better be here!" Geoff said and Ryan could hear the smile in his voice.

"See you then. And Geoff?" Ryan asked.

"What's up?"

"Jeremy's been through some shit so try not to overwhelm him. And keep an open mind," Ryan said.

"What do you mean?" Geoff asked a bit concerned.

"Just promise okay? I'll see you when we get back," Ryan said and hung up.

"So, what're we gonna do for an hour?" Jeremy asked behind him. Ryan turned and shrugged.

"We could play some games if you want," he said. Jeremy nodded and the two sat down to play, enjoying the moment while they could before Ryan checked the time and said it was time to go. Jeremy grabbed his things and followed the Vagabond out to his car.

"Ryan?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah?"

"We're friends now right?" he asked. Ryan smiled.

"Buddies even," he said and Jeremy laughed.

"So I guess this means I can ride shotgun and not in the trunk?" he joked. Ryan became very serious.

"Oh no, you're still riding in the trunk. I was supposed to kidnap you after all," he said. Jeremy paled and gulped. Ryan punched him in the shoulder and cracked a smile.

"I'm joking relax!" he said.

"You're a fucking asshole you know?" Jeremy muttered and got into the car. The drive went by fairly peaceful and quiet, except for a brief time when Ryan heard _Barbie Girl_ on the radio and sang along at the top of his lungs, much to the entertainment of Jeremy who managed to sneak a video on his phone. As they drove through the streets of Los Santos Jeremy began to shake uncontrollably. He wasn't sure why, maybe he was anxious about meeting the Crew. Ryan noticed and gave him a reassuring smile.

A few minutes later Ryan pulled into the parking garage of a tall fancy apartment, the place full of fancy cars and motorcycles some painted ridiculous colors. Jeremy was awestruck and wondered how much the garage full of cars was worth. Shutting off the engine Ryan pulled his skull mask back on.

"How do I look?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Fucking terrifying," Jeremy said flatly and smiled. He knew that Ryan was dangerous sure, but he'd seen a side of him that no one had ever seen before, his gentle caring side.

"Ready to meet the guys?" Ryan asked. Jeremy swallowed and calmed his breathing.

"Let's do this," he said. Ryan led him to the elevator and hit the button for the top floor where the Fakes stayed. He briefly filled in Jeremy about the Fakes; how Michael was overly loud and shouted at everything, Gavin was an idiotic clumsy oaf but a great friend and very smart in the sciences, Jack was quiet and passive, Geoff was strong and stubborn, and Ray was observant. Michael's wife Lindsay would most likely be here too.

Ryan glanced over at Jeremy as they neared their floor and saw he was shaking again and looked terrified. He put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"It'll be okay. Don't be afraid, and remember I'll be there the whole time so if you feel nervous or overwhelmed just stand next to me," he said. Jeremy gave him a thankful look and then the doors of the elevator opened and Ryan stepped out, immediately back in his Vagabond persona. Taking a deep breath Jeremy stepped out of the elevator.


	11. The Fakes

"What's up bitches?"

Jeremy jumped at the shout to his right and saw a young man a few years older than him walking down the hall. He wore a red tshirt and blue jeans and had curly brownish red hair. Ryan nodded to him and walked down the hall the opposite direction. With an awkward nod to the stranger Jeremy quickly followed Ryan who led him to the kitchen. The man Jeremy had seen in the grey suit so long ago was there but this time in a black tshirt and sweat pants. He wore a white apron and chefs hat and his brown handlebar mustache twitched. He was cooking something that smelled like steak and Jeremy realized he was suddenly very hungry. Ryan stood there for a minute before coughing to grab the man's attention.

"Shit Vagabond! Don't sneak up on me like that!" the man said whirling around and clutched his chest where his heart was. His eyes fell to Jeremy. "Jeremy Dooley, it's been awhile man!" he said with a smile. Jeremy relaxed a little and nodded.

"It sure has Mr. Ramsey," he said. Geoff wrinkled his nose.

"Gross! Just call me Geoff," he said. Jeremy nodded again.

"We need to talk," Ryan said in his deep dark Vagabond voice that still sent chills up Jeremy's spine. Geoff looked at his steaks and then called over a large man with a big beard.

"Jack keep an eye on these okay and pull them off when they're done if I'm not back by then," Geoff said. Jack nodded and offered Jeremy a smile.

After offering a reassuring nod to Jeremy, Ryan led Geoff into the meeting room and made sure none of the Lads were within hearing distance before turning to his boss.

"What's up?" Geoff asked concerned.

"Here's the thing, Jeremy went through hell when Funhaus had him. He's been having nightmares about it so try to refrain from scaring him anymore than he already is. Don't pull any shit," Ryan said crossing his arms.

"What did they do to him?" asked Geoff in a concerned voice. Ryan shook his head.

"It wasn't good Geoff. They did terrible things to him and I'm surprised he isn't anymore messed up than he is. He'll tell you if he wants but that's his story to tell not mine. I will say that, with the state we left them in, we can probably expect some sort of retaliation," he said. Geoff glared at him for a second as if to say "you fucked us didn't you?" but didn't say anything for a minute.

"Okay, I'll be tactful with Jeremy. I can't promise anything for the Lads but I know Jack and Lindsay will be understanding," he said.

"Also he's not too keen on joining the Crew because of some..personal things and thinks you're going to force him or kill him. So let him see the real you and explain what you really wanted to say to him to get him to join," Ryan continued. Geoff nodded and the two turned towards the door.

"GAVIN YOU FUCK!"

Ryan and Geoff exchanged glances at the rage-filled yell. Geoff rubbed his forehead with his head and looked like he felt a headache coming on.

"Jeremy may already be dead," he said earning a grunt from Ryan. The two walked to the kitchen where the Lads had joined Jack and Jeremy. Jeremy was backed into a corner looking around nervously with a hand on the knife at his side while Gavin and a red faced Michael argued. Jack was at the large grill built into the stove looking sympathetic towards Jeremy while Ray perched on a stool at the counter and watched the chaos with a smirk, observing everything with his keen brown eyes.

"What're you assholes arguing about this time?" demanded Geoff.

"Gavin's being a moron again!" growled Michael.

"But Micoo it's for science!" Gavin whined.

"We're not setting my arm on fire you fuck!" Michael roared. Geoff glared at Gavin.

"No one gets set on fire in my apartment! Take it outside or shut the fuck up!" he yelled. Gavin pouted but stopped talking and Michael started turning lighter shades of red until his face returned to its natural color.

"I swear, dealing with you two is like herding cats!" Geoff said. Ray, Jack and Jeremy chuckled at that. Geoff turned to Jeremy.

"You'll have to excuse dumbass and dumberass here," he said. Jeremy nervously looked at Geoff but nodded, relaxing a little and removing his hand from his knife.

"So is this the guy who fucked up our heist awhile back?" asked Ray sounding bored and looking unimpressed. Jeremy narrowed his eyes.

"I believe you were the ones who actually fucked up my job I was running," he said and crossed his arms. Michael smiled.

"I like this guy!" he said to Geoff and gestured at Jeremy with his thumb. Geoff smiled and directed everyone to the plates and silverware on the kitchen island. Ryan stood in the corner while everyone lined up and stacked their plates with the steak, potatoes, and various other foods Geoff had been cooking all day. Jack and Geoff stood around the kitchen eating their food while Gavin and Michael sat on the couch in the living room with their plates. Ray sat on a stool at the kitchen counter facing the dining room and Jeremy stood awkwardly holding his plate watching all that was going on before going and standing near the end of the counter top. His eyes went wide as he bit into his steak.

"Holy shit this is amazing!" he said drawing a chuckle from Geoff.

"Thank you! At least SOMEONE appreciates good food around here!" Geoff said and glared at the others.

"I appreciate your cooking Geoffrey!" Gavin exclaimed from the couch with a hurtful look.

"Gavin no one likes a kiss ass!" shouted Michael which threw Jack and Geoff into a fit of laughter. Jeremy looked around at the faces of the Crew he was so afraid of. But was it really fear he felt? The more he thought about it the more he realized that he'd admired and looked up to these guys his whole life, Ray actually being his inspiration for becoming a sniper in the first place. So why was he so apprehensive around them and guarded? His gaze fell on Ryan who'd now taken a seat across from Ray on the other side of the counter. His gaze was switching between his plate and Ray across from him next to Jeremy. The two seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"So, Jeremy is it? How'd a guy like you manage to evade us that day when you fucked up our heist?" said Michael casually. Jeremy huffed and looked at the Lad who was looking at him with a blank stare.

"I've been melting into the shadows my whole life, learning to blend in and become unseen," he replied and shrugged. "Maybe if you'd been paying attention you'd have found me, though I doubt it," he continued.

"Kid's got a pair on him that's for sure!" Jack laughed. Jeremy liked Jack. He was nice and seemed very laid back and chill. Unlike the others.

"Will you two stop having your weird telepathic conversation over there? It's creeping me out!" Geoff said to Ray and Ryan. The two seemed to snap out of a trance and went back to their food.

"Fucking weirdos," mumbled Michael.

"So Jeremy I hear you're a pickpocket?" Gavin asked more than said with his mouth full. Jeremy nodded and took another bight.

"Comes in handy with the line of work I'm in," he said after a moment.

"What's something you've nicked?" Gavin asked with wide eyes. Jeremy looked at the Brit.

"Um, your moms virginity," he said and went back to his steak. Geoff choked on his water from laughing, Gavin squawked, Michael started laughing uncontrollably, and Ray and Ryan chuckled.

"Bro you just got fuckin wreaked!" Michael said to Gavin as he wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to calm down.

"You'll fit in nicely here," said Ray with a smile. Jeremy looked down and discovered a fascinating spot on his shoes he felt needed further examination. Geoff coughed awkwardly and the Crew returned to their meals in silence. After the meal was finished and the dishes piled into the sink for later washing, the Crew sat in the living room on the various couches and played some video games. Jeremy sat on the couch with Ray on one side and Michael on the other while Gavin sat at their feet and Jack sat in his recliner to their right. Ryan stood behind the Lads and Jeremy watching and keeping quiet the whole time. After a few minutes Jeremy felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Geoff looking down at him with friendly eyes.

"Let's go for a drive," he said. Jeremy tensed up and his eyes darted over to meet Ryan's. The man simply nodded his head and seemed to smile reassuringly under his mask. Slowly and hesitantly Jeremy got up and handed his controller to Ryan and walked with Geoff out the door. The older gent led him down to the garage and selected a fancy black car with blue pinstripes. Jeremy plopped into the passenger seat and Geoff buckled in with a smile.

"Damn I love this car!" he said as the engine purred to life. Jeremy chuckled nervously but kept quiet. He felt a little nervous without Ryan nearby but took a deep breath and trusted the man's faith in his boss. Geoff drove out onto the street and drove in a leisurely manner up to the highway. Jeremy wondered where Geoff was taking him, the idea of a private silent place where Geoff could dispose of his body easily entering his mind several times. Jeremy grew tenser and tenser as the car drove up Mount Chilliad, finally coming to a stop at an overlook of the city. Jeremy had to admit the view was beautiful.

"Okay out," Geoff commanded.

_Oh fuck! Here we go. My last moments on earth._ Jeremy thought as he swallowed and stepped out of the car. Geoff walked to the front of the car and leaned against the front while gazing out onto the city. Jeremy hesitantly joined him.

"Look out there Jeremy. What do you see?" Geoff asked. Jeremy was taken aback but did as he was told. After a moments observation he shrugged.

"The most hellish city on planet earth?" he guessed. Geoff chuckled.

"I see opportunities and chances," he said. Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"Out there life is a shit show, but there are chances for everyone to make the best out of it. Do you know what the members of my Crew did before they joined?" he asked.

"I know R...the Vagabond was a serial killer until you approached him with the offer to join the Crew," Jeremy said. Geoff laughed.

"Well he was a special case. I meant the others," he said. Jeremy shook his head.

"Jack was a divorced alcoholic who was about to commit suicide because he's lost everything and didn't have a purpose to live. Ray was a kid who's just lost his family in a gang war, they were civilian casualties and Ray was the only survivor and he wanted revenge. Michael was institutionalized for beating a man to death for raping his sister. Gavin was all alone here in America with no friends or family and was almost killed by a gang because he was British," Geoff explained. As the stories continued about how shitty the Crew's lives had been, Jeremy wondered how they all ended up so...happy.

"We all started out with fucked up lives, some of us shouldn't even be alive right now. But we all had an opportunity to change our lives for the better and become something we all needed," Geoff continued.

"What about you? What's your tragic backstory?" Jeremy asked. Geoff smiled sadly.

"My first wife cheated on me and then left me and was later murdered in front of me, I turned to drugs and alcohol which is how I met Jack, and the two of us somehow managed to pull each other out of the darkness in our lives and form the FAHC. While Jack was about to commit suicide I'd already attempted it three times," Geoff said in a sad tone as he rolled up his jacket sleeves. Jeremy saw that under his tattoos were scars on his wrists from where he'd cut himself in the past, the scares a harsh reminder.

"I had given up so many times but when I found out Jack was going to try I put my foot down. He was my only friend at the time and I refused to let someone else I cared about leave my life so I talked him out of it. After a couple years of counseling and working on our addictions we formed the FAHC," Geoff continued. Jeremy nodded solemnly.

"What I'm getting at is we're not perfect by any stretch of the word. We're the lowest of the low and the worst of the worst. But we found something that few people find when they're lost or searching. We found a family," Geoff said looking hard at Jeremy. Jeremy looked down at his feet and found that spot again that looked so interesting and required further examination. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment.

"I'm not going to force you to join the Crew, God knows I was an idiot to think I could in the first place. But I would like you to consider it. You're a good kid and a hard worker. I've seen what you can do, you've worked for us before. I think you'd be a great addition to the Crew, to the family. I don't know what happened to you with Funhaus but I can promise you that if you join us we can guarantee that you'll be safe from whatever shit they did to you. It won't happen again, we won't allow it to happen again. You'll have our protection and we'll always have your back. Can we trust you to always have our backs?" Geoff asked. Jeremy froze and looked up at Geoff, searching his eyes for any indication that this was a trick or trap. He felt panicked at the mention of Funhaus but calmed his breathing. Having a family again...it was a notion that seemed both terrifying and wonderful at the same time. Jeremy looked down again and thought hard. The man he'd looked up to since he was a teenager first getting into the crime business was offering him a job, and a place in his family. If Jeremy was being honest with himself he was a little overwhelmed.

"Can..can I think about it a little longer?" Jeremy asked timidly, looking up at Geoff with hope in his eyes. The man smiled and nodded.

"Of course! And you can stay at the penthouse for as long as you need. I have the feeling you wouldn't want to be alone with Funhaus looking for you. You can use one of the guest rooms temporarily until you make your decision," Geoff said with joy and hope in his eyes. Jeremy felt that the man actually cared. He smiled and nodded. Geoff patted him on the back and gazed out on his city again. Jeremy did the same and saw the city with a new viewpoint. Sure the place was filled with the scum of the earth and pretty much was a hell hole, but he saw it now as a place of new beginnings and change. If Geoff and the Fakes could come together from their fucked up backgrounds and form a family, then maybe there was hope yet.

Just as the two turned to get into the car Geoff's phone went off. Rolling his eyes he answered it.

"What? I'm having a heart to heart here with Dooley," he said causing Jeremy to chuckle. Jeremy was just ducking into the car when he heard Geoff drop his keys and gasp. Standing quickly he saw that Geoff had grown pale and there was a look in his eyes that sent chills down Jeremy's spine. Something bad had happened.

"What?! What happened? They what?! When did this happen? Who? They did? Fuck! Okay we'll be there in a few minutes!" he said and hung up the phone. He looked at Jeremy, fear, anger, rage, and helplessness in his eyes.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked, a sick feeling starting to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Apparently some of the local gangs decided to advance their territory borders and attacked the penthouse while we were gone. Lindsay just called saying Jack had called her and she heard the fight over the phone. Jack told her they came out of nowhere and that Michael had been wounded. He said they needed help and then the phone went dead she said. We need to get back there now!" he said and dove into the driver's seat as Jeremy jumped into the passenger, Geoff turning the key and flooring it down the mountain.

"This happened while we were gone?" Jeremy asked growing pale when Geoff nodded. What if they'd been there? Would they have been able to hold the gang off?

"That's not all," Geoff said. Jeremy felt the sickening feeling grow worse.

"What else?" he asked knowing he wasn't going to like it.

"The fucks took Ray and Vagabond hostage!" Geoff said. Jeremy felt sick and closed his eyes.

_This cannot be happening!_ he thought.


	12. Invasion

Jeremy felt his heart leap into his throat as Geoff tore down the streets of Los Santos, mostly from the news about Ryan, but he suspected the wreakless driving had a factor in it too. The very idea that a gang would attack the Fakes, one of the most feared Crews in the city, at their own headquarters told him they were serious. Geoff hadn't mentioned any demands for the return of the crew members, which made Jeremy feel even more sick. He began shaking and felt suddenly cold.

"Oh shit Jeremy! Are you okay? Hang on we're almost there!" came Geoff's voice. Jeremy closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. When Geoff pulled up to the penthouse Jeremy dove out the door and dashed for the elevator, Geoff close behind him. Punching the button to the right floor Jeremy felt the urgency within him boiling over.

"C'mon c'mon hurry up!" he muttered. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Geoff had drawn his .45 and was silently telling Jeremy to let him go first. Nodding, Jeremy stepped behind Geoff and drew his knife from its sheath and his own .45 with his other hand. When the elevator doors opened Geoff snapped into action and whipped around the left corner, Jeremy snapping to the right to cover Geoff's back. Together the two moved down the hall slowly, clearing each room as they went. The two remained silent as they weren't sure if there were any enemy gang members still here. All around them were signs of fighting, bullet holes in walls, blood splatter the floor and walls, bodies of gang members littered the floor, furniture was littered around and small household objects were thrown about.

"Jack? Where are you?" Geoff whispered rather loudly.

"Why don't you talk a little louder, I don't think they heard you in Uruguay!" Jeremy hissed. Geoff glared at him for a second but nodded and the two made their way to the kitchen. The whole penthouse was darkened and quiet, the two men easily hearing their pounding heart beats.

"Where is everyone?" Geoff asked quietly.

"Could they be hiding somewhere?" asked Jeremy glancing around nervously.

"There's an old storage room that could be used as a fallback point. It's easily defendable and can provide good cover in case of a fight," Geoff said slowly, thinking.

"Let's try there," Jeremy said. The two made their way to the room down the stairs. Geoff grew pale at the sight of the door to the room. It was full of bullet holes and there were burn marks around the walls were grenades had left damage. There were bodies on the floor at Geoff and Jeremy's feet, none of them were their friends. Geoff slowly approached the door and knocked gently.

"Jack?" he whispered quietly, his voice small and choked. There was silence. Geoff looked at Jeremy and the younger saw fear and anguish in the older's eyes. Then they heard something. The two froze and listened harder then they'd ever listened before.

There! It was a cough!

Geoff ripped the door open and dashed into the room, Jeremy following close behind. Jack lay on the floor in front of them.

"Holy shit! Jack!" Geoff exclaimed kneeling beside his friend. Jack groaned. Geoff sighed in relief.

"Oh thank god!" he exclaimed. Jack rolled over onto his back and sat up holding his head.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I think so yeah. Last thing I remember is running after Michael and Gavin and then getting hit in the head. I must've blacked out," Jack said groggily and shook his head to clear it, regretting the action as fresh throbbing pain entered his skull.

"Where are the others?" Geoff asked urgently. Jack looked up with watery eyes.

"Michael got hit, but it wasn't fatal. Gavin took him out the back door there into the tunnel we build in case this place fell. Geoff, they took Ray and the Vagabond!" Jack said his voice catching.

Jeremy's heart stopped. So it was true then? They'd taken Ryan?

"Tell me what happened from the beginning," Geoff said and told Jeremy to go and fetch a glass of water for Jack. Jeremy nervously headed back up the stairs, remembering to clear his corners.

"After you two left the Lads and I were playing video games while Vagabond went to his room to take a nap. I knew you'd be awhile which is why I was surprised when I heard the elevator and then the knock at the door. I told the Lads to get ready and we took up our positions. I was about to open the door from the side when it blew open from a grenade blast. The smoke hadn't cleared yet when they came in. We managed to kill off the first ten or so but then more and more came so we retreated. We headed down the hall and the Vagabond came bursting out of his room with a rocket launcher, firing at the group and taking out a good number of them. That's when the window shattered. A bullet hit the Vagabond in the shoulder and as he turned to look a dart hit him in the back of the neck. He fell a minute later. Ray rushed to his room and got his sniper, he crouched beside the Vagabond and managed to shoot the sniper across the street. I was pushing Michael and Gavin towards the door when Michael got peppered in the leg and shoulder. I pulled him through and turned to call Ray when I saw six of them running at him. I shot two before one stuck a tzar into his side. I watched as the group handcuffed Vagabond and Ray and dragged them back before another group charged. We shot as many as we could but then we had to run down here. I had already called Lindsay by then and was turning the corner when something hit my head. Gavin helped me in here while providing cover. We boarded up the door and I told him to take Michael out the back and get Lindsay. He wouldn't until I threatened to shoot him, little bastard," Jack explained, smiling at this last statement.

"Do you know who they were? Was it one of the Crews or just a street gang?" Geoff asked urgently. Jack shook his head.

"I couldn't tell. They didn't wear anything that identified them with one of the Crews but were way to organized to be a typical gang. And they attacked us on our turf, that's not normal gang behavior," he said.

"We need to find them. We need to rescue Ray and Vagabond!" Geoff said urgently.

~

Jeremy cautiously made his way up the stairs and back to the kitchen. Before finding a glass of water he examined one of the dead criminals for any sign of who he belonged to, Crew or gang. Nothing stood out and he didn't have any color specific clothing, tattoos, or bling that identified him. Jeremy shook his head and opened a cabinet, finding a glass that wasn't shattered from the fighting. Standing at the sink he turned on the faucet and held the glass under. He wondered what could've possessed a group of people to attack the most feared Crew in the state. So distracted was he that he didn't see or hear the figure stalking up behind him. Turning off the faucet he was about to turn when he felt a gun barrel press into his temple.

"Make the wrong move or say the wrong thing and I'll blow your head off," came a firm female voice behind him. Jeremy winced and raised his hands to shoulder height, one still holding the glass.

"You don't understand, I'm only here to help!" he said swallowing hard. The barrel pressed harder into his head.

"Shut the fuck up until you're told to speak. Put the glass down and walk!" the voice told him. He put the glass down on the counter and felt a hand grip his shoulder and shove him in the direction of the living room. Jeremy hissed in pain at the grip on his shoulder, his wounds still tender even after having healed mostly. He was shoved roughly into a wooded chair and the woman walked around front of him, keeping the gun pointed at his face. She was quite beautiful actually, long brown hair and a few freckles. If she hadn't been pointing a gun at him and didn't look like she was about to unleash the wrath of Satan himself she might have a nice smile and laugh Jeremy thought.

"I don't know you. Never seen you here before. But I can only assume you're either a thug left over from the attack enjoying the place before leaving, or a petty Trasher," the lady said. Jeremy shook his head.

"I promise I'm neither of those! I don't even know what the fuck a Trasher is!" he said in a worried tone. She glared at him.

"Don't play dumb with me shortcake! What did you do to the people here?" she asked. Jeremy thought for a moment.

"You must be Lindsay!" he exclaimed. She glared at him and then walked behind him, pressing the gun into the scruff of his neck and forcing his head forward. Jeremy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He felt handcuffs snap onto his wrists and tighten. Walking around front again Lindsay glared down at him.

"Okay let's try this again. What did you do to the people here?" she asked, danger dripping from her voice. Jeremy swallowed.

"I didn't do anything to them! Geoff took me on a car ride to Chilliad and then he got the call about the attack and we rushed here. He and Jack are in the storage room downstairs!" Jeremy said quickly, his voice rising an octave. Lindsay stared at him then turned and started walking away.

"Hey! Don't leave me here, uncuff me!" Jeremy called. Lindsay whipped around and pointed a threatening finger at the man.

"Keep your damn mouth shut or I'll come back and feed you your own tongue. You'd better pray that what you're saying is true or it'll be the last lie you ever utter!" she said and turned and walked to the stairs. Jeremy sat there in the chair for several minutes in fear. This was Michael's wife? Shockingly he wasn't surprised by that at all. Sitting in the chair made Jeremy uneasy. He began to feel panic and started seeing images of Lawrence walking towards him. He struggled and tried to release his wrists from the cuffs but in his rushed frame of mind his attempts went unsuccessful. His breathing quickened and his heart began to race.

Jeremy shook his head to clear the images but they didn't go away. Lawrence was joined by Bruce and the two walked slowly towards him. Jeremy whimpered and shook his head.

"Please, no! Go away you aren't real!" he said, voice weak and small. The two men chuckled. Jeremy began sweating and he tried to scoot the chair he was tied to back away from them.

"Relax Jeremy, just let it happen!" Lawrence smirked. Jeremy shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Leave me alone! Get away from me!" Jeremy screamed. The panic had fully taken him and he was now in full fight or flight mode. He tensed up and tried to make himself smaller and screamed when he felt hands on him.

"Jeremy! Snap out of it buddy! You're okay,"

Jeremy's eyes snapped open and he saw Geoff, Jack, and a very sorry looking Lindsay standing there, Geoff with a hand resting on his shoulder trying to shake him out of his panic. Jeremy let out a breath he'd been holding in and nearly cried for joy.

"Please, let me out of these cuffs!" he begged pitifully. Lindsay quickly released his wrists. Jeremy scrambled away from the group and backed into a corner and stood there panting and trying to calm himself. Geoff and Jack exchanged worried looks and Lindsay looked like she felt terrible.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know if you were one of them or not. I couldn't be too careful," she said quietly.

"Jeremy, are you okay?" asked Jack gently and took a step towards the man. Jeremy tensed up for a second then remembered it was Jack and then slowly relaxed and nodded.

"I'll be okay. I just...I just need a minute," he said as he felt himself calming. Geoff looked worried.

"Why don't you go lie down for a bit. We'll wake you up when we've come up with some form of a plan," he said. Jeremy hesitated and then nodded and slowly started walking towards the bedrooms. Just then the phone rang. Jeremy froze as did the others. They all exchanged glances and then looked at the phone. It rang again but no one wanted to answer. It rang again and then Jeremy picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he asked, thankful that his voice didn't sound panicked or strained as it had a moment ago. Geoff and Jack stared at him.

"Who is this? Where's Ramsey?" came the voice on the other end of the call.

"He's not here right now. You'll just have to talk to me," Jeremy said with authority. There was a pause.

"We have two of your men. If you want them back alive then I suggest you do what you're instructed carefully," the voice said.

"Noted. Who am I'm speaking to so we can move this business along?" Jeremy said more than asked. Geoff and Jack were slack jawed.

"We are known as the Inquisitors. We'll contact you with more details about your men by sundown tomorrow," the voice said. Jeremy swallowed and hung up the phone.

"What happened? Who was it?" blurted out Geoff.

"The men who took Ray and R..Vagabond. Called themselves the Inquisitors. He said that if we do what they say then our men will be returned to us, and that they'd call back with details by tomorrow at sundown," Jeremy relayed the info.

"Lindsay?" Geoff asked.

"I'm on it!" the woman said and whipped out her phone to make a call.

"Jeremy are you sure you're alright? What was going on a few minutes ago?" Jack asked gently. Jeremy shook his head and set his jaw.

"Not important right now, I'll be fine. We need to concentrate on getting our guys back!" he said.

"Our guys?" Geoff asked with a smile. Jeremy smiled back and nodded.

"You asked me once if you could trust me to have your backs. Well, count me in!" he said with determination. Geoff smiled and patted Jeremy on the back.

"Welcome to the FAHC Jeremy!" he exclaimed. Lindsay walked back just then and nodded at Jack and Geoff.

"I called and they said they're on their way," she said. Jeremy looked questioningly at Geoff.

"Jeremy, it's time for you to meet B-Team!" he said.


	13. I'm Sorry

Jeremy sat on the bed in the room Jack had shown him to. The man insisted that Jeremy take a nap and rest after everything that had been going on. But without Ryan there to comfort him if he had another nightmare which he knew he would have, Jeremy was hesitant to sleep. He felt frustrated that he almost depended on Ryan now to get him through his nights. He hated the thought of depending on someone to the point where he couldn't or wouldn't do the basic human actions. With new resolution he laid down and closed his eyes, determined to sleep without Ryan there to help. As expected, his nightmares began, and they attacked full force this time.

_He was that small child again, innocent and scared standing there watching his parents being wheeled to the ambulance. But this time, when the covers were removed it wasn't his parents faces he saw, but Ryan's and Ray's. Jeremy screamed and felt an anguish in his soul he thought he'd never feel again. The dead body of Ryan stared back at him, blood running down his face and staining that sandy blonde hair; his blue eyes void of life and dull now. Ray was in similar shape and though Jeremy didn't know him personally like he did with Ryan, he felt remorse at seeing one of his heroes dead before him. Covering his face with his hands, Jeremy wept. He didn't want to see it anymore but the images were burned harshly into his brain._

_"They're dead because of you,"_

_Jeremy's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. Geoff stood there in place of his grandpa, looking sadly down at his fallen friends._

_"What? No! That's not true!" Jeremy choked out. Geoff whirled on him with anger and rage in his eyes._

_"If you hadn't fucked up our heist then you wouldn't have been at the penthouse that day. I wouldn't have taken you for that ride, and they wouldn't be dead! It's all your mother fucking fault!" Geoff yelled, pointing at the staring dead corpses of his friends. Jeremy felt tears spill down his cheeks and he shook his head._

_"No! This isn't my fault, this isn't my fault..." he said, repeating himself over and over, each time his voice growing quieter and quieter. Somehow deep down he believed what Geoff was saying was true. Suddenly he was on top of a tall building looking out over the city of Los Santos. Geoff stood next to him glaring at him._

_"You know what you need to do Jeremy. Just do it already!" he growled. Jeremy looked over the edge and saw that there was a giant target painted on the ground far below. If this hadn't been a nightmare Jeremy would've laughed at how cartoony this scene felt and looked. But this was serious._

Maybe this is all for the better. Maybe they'd all be better off with me gone. No one would get hurt, they wouldn't have to worry about me, and I wouldn't be a burden to them. _Jeremy thought as he edged nearer to the edge of the building. Suddenly he felt a hand grab his. He turned and gasped._

_Ryan was standing there looking at him intently. He wasn't dead and there wasn't any blood running down his face. He looked sternly at Jeremy and almost looked disappointed._

_"What do you think you're doing?" he asked. Jeremy felt his jaw go slack and he tried to form words._

_"I risked my life to save you, we became friends, buddies even. Remember? Are you just going to throw that all away? Stop blaming yourself for all the shit that's happening and find a way to work through it! Don't give up and make my sacrifice for you be in vain. Don't throw your life away!" Ryan said. Jeremy stared at him, searching his eyes. He threw himself into Ryan's arms and hugged him. The taller man hugged him back and then gently pushed Jeremy away._

_"You can do this Lil J. Don't give up. I believe in you and know that you can beat this," he said. Jeremy smiled and nodded._

The rest of the time Jeremy slept peacefully and he didn't have any more nightmares.

~  
~

Ryan shook his head to clear it and groaned at the pain. His right shoulder felt like it was on fire and he knew he'd lost a good amount of blood. The attack had come out of no where and had caught the Crew completely off guard. Why he was still alive he didn't know. Nor did he know where he was or who'd taken him prisoner. He looked around him and noted that his mask had been removed, thank god he'd remembered to keep his face paint on. The room he was in was dark but he could make out the shapes of nearby tables, a bed, metal beams that went up to the ceiling. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious and reached for his head, only to find that his hands were tied behind his back.

_Figures._ he thought and rolled his eyes. He was sat in a metal chair, his legs tied to the legs of the chair itself. These guys, whoever they were weren't taking any chances of him getting loose. He groaned again and shifted in his seat, feeling his legs and ass falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was getting hit through the window and then a small prick in his neck. He remembered falling to the ground and watching as Ray knelt beside him firing his sniper rifle out the window before be blacked out.

Where was Ray? Was he safe? Were the rest of the Crew safe? He knew Geoff and Jeremy would be okay since Geoff had driven them to Chilliad. Ryan smiled slightly. Geoff always took them up there when he recruited them. Ryan remembered his own journey up there with Geoff. He knew that the man was deathly afraid of him due to his reputation, but Geoff had been almost adamant about the drive. Ryan had to admit that he admired Geoff's courage, being trapped inside a car for a good 45 minutes with the most notorious murderer in the state. When they'd reached the top Geoff had gotten out and Ryan followed suit. Staring out over the city the two just stood there for several minutes, both enjoying the still and quiet.

"You know, most everyone is afraid of you. They're right to be afraid you're one sick son of a bitch," Geoff had said flatly. Ryan had grunted but hadn't said anything.

"But they never took the time to get close to you and know you. You've been a loner for years, never belonging anywhere and doing what you want. On some days that doesn't sound all that bad. But there's something you want deep down isn't there?" he asked. Ryan turned then and stared at Geoff. Had his mask been off Geoff would've seen an incredulous look of shock on the Vagabond's face. How had he known that?

"Life can only provide so many thrills and distractions before we all realize it. We all are searching for something, and while some find it others miss it because they're too caught up in their dull meaningless lives. Are you going to be one of the people who finds what they're looking for? Or are you going to miss out on something great?" Geoff asked. Ryan had stared at him for a long time, Geoff looking him directly in the eyes, something no man had ever done willingly.

Ryan shook his head to return to the present, remembering that day and how it had led him to the Crew. But now wasn't the time for sweet memories. Testing his bonds he felt that the ones securing his hands were zipties. Easy enough. The rope around his chest would be slightly more tricky but he could do it. Then it was a matter of releasing his legs and feet. Rocking slightly in the chair he found that it wasn't bolted to the floor. He smirked.

_For an organized group of criminals they sure as hell don't know the first thing about securing a prisoner._ he thought. Pushing his arms out away from his body as much as he could he brought them forward with a tremendous force, at the same time pulling his arms apart. The zipties snapped just like he knew they would. Bringing his arms round front of him he wriggled his shoulders until the ropes were looser and then slipped them up over his shoulders and head. Patting his pockets he found that he'd been stripped of any weapons or tools he might have. Huffing his annoyance he reached down and untied his legs from the chair, then stood and pulled the chair behind him up into the air, slipping the chair legs out of the zipties securing his feet to the chair. He smiled at how easy it'd all been and then froze.

That was it though. It had been too easy. Anyone who'd attacked the most dangerous Crew in Los Santos and kidnapped their most dangerous member would have taken greater precautions than this wouldn't they? Ryan grew uneasy and slowly approached the door at the end of the room, stalking silently across the room and looking for cameras, microphones, traps, or anything that would alert him to his captors. Nothing. This was all very weird. Pressing an ear to the door Ryan listened carefully. Hearing nothing he tried the doorknob. It was unlocked and opened for him.

"Okay now I KNOW this has got to be a trap," he muttered but stepped out into the room the door led him to. He felt naked without a weapon but knew he could most likely win at a hand to hand confrontation. Slowly making his way around the parameter of the room Ryan observed the scene. The place was dimly lit by a fluorescent light that periodically flickered ever so slightly. There were hospital gurneys along one wall and cabinets containing medicine on the other. Hesitating for a second he approached the medicine cabinets and took in what they contained. Shrugging and looking left and right he opened the cabinet and retrieved a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some bandage wraps. Retreating back to the room he'd woken up in and pulled up the right side of his shirt. Noticing that there was an exit wound Ryan set about cleaning the wound as best he could and then bandaging it up. His shoulder was a little stiff and still hurt like hell but he'd live. He kept the bottle of alcohol with him, shoving it into the pocket of his jeans.

Sneaking back out of the room Ryan made his way back out into the large dim lit room and walked past the cabinets this time, pausing and retrieving a couple syringes before moving on. Following a hallway off to his left Ryan kept his eyes peeled for his kidnappers or any form of life. Passing one room he paused and did a double take at the room. It was just a normal bathroom but something there caught his eye.

_Sink!_  he thought and darted over to the sink and turned on the faucet, plugging the drain with a nearby cloth. Smiling at his work he moved on. The Vagabond's war on sinks was back on!

Ryan made his way to a door that had light pouring from the crack at the floor and placed an ear to it. He could just barely make out voices on the other side.

"What're we going to do with him? He'll wake up soon," said one voice.

"We stick to the plan. Ramsey will do what we say so long as we have his precious dog," said another voice.

"What if he gets loose or something?" said the first voice nervously.

"That isn't fuckin happening! Even if he did somehow manage to get loose there's no way he'd escape this place," said the second voice. Ryan could only assume they meant him. So focused was he on the conversation that he didn't notice the man sneaking up behind him. That is, until he felt the barrel of a gun press into the back of his skull. Sighing Ryan raised his hands and slowly stepped away from the door, turning and looking at the man holding him at gunpoint.

"To be honest, I'm not at all surprised that you got free. Your reputation proceeds you, Vagabond," the man said without emotion. Ryan narrowed his eyes and glanced at the gun only a few inches away from his face.

"Now, no need to make a big fuss and get people hurt. Just keep your mouth shut and walk," the man ordered and gestured with his gun. Ryan stood still for a second staring at the man and then started walking back the way he'd come. He had to admit, this guy had balls. Too bad he wouldn't be needing them where he'd be going. After three steps Ryan whirled and twisted the man's wrists sharply, wrenching the gun out of his hands and then slammed the butt of the gun into the shocked man's throat with all his strength. The man croaked for air and grabbed his throat as he fell to his knees in shock, his air pipe crushed. Ryan stood over him and smiled.

"I guess you could say I really took your breath away," he said and then snapped the man's neck. Laying the man down quietly on the ground Ryan crept back to the door. Taking a deep breath he kicked it in and rolled into the room, dodging several shots. Rising to one knee he raised his gun and fired two shots, killing two men near him. Ducking to the right he dodged another shot and then fired, killing the woman with a headshot. Running up to one of the gang members Ryan sank one of his syringes deep into the man's throat, using the body as a shield while he killed two more gangsters before shoving it away and rolling away.

Ryan whirled to his right and was just raising his gun to shoot when he felt pain wreak his body as electricity ran through him, locking his body and causing him to collapse to the floor. Gasping for air Ryan looked up into the face of the man who tazed him. The man frowned and looked like he was about to fire again when there was a shout from the door. Ryan turned and gasped.

Ray!

He was standing there with two more men and looked horrified to see Ryan, but there was something else in his eyes.

"Ray, run! Get Geoff and the others!" Ryan exclaimed hoarsely. The men laughed and Ray lowered his head, furthering Ryan's unease and fear.

"We took good care of your crew. I'd be surprised if any of them besides Ramsey were still breathing," one chuckled. Ray tensed and Ryan narrowed his eyes.

"Vaga, I..." Ray started to say but stopped and shook his head. Ryan had a bad feeling.

"Get him back to his cell till he's ready to cooperate!" ordered one of the men standing next to Ray, and Ryan felt himself hauled to his feet. Struggling as much as he could he suddenly felt a prick in his neck and saw one of his captors pulling an empty syringe away.

"Ray what the fuck is going on?" Ryan yelled, hearing his voice slurring as his world started to grow dark.

"Vagabond, I'm sorry," Ray said. That was the last thing Ryan heard before the darkness claimed him. Ray watched as his best friend in the whole world was slowly dragged away unconscious. He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Welcome to the team Brownman," one of the men standing next to Ray said and pat him on the shoulder. Ray lowered his head.

"I fucking swear! If anything happens to him there's nothing on this earth that will stop me from having your heads!" Ray growled looking at the two men beside him.

_Please, just let the others still be alive!_ he thought as he walked down the hall following Ryan's escort.


	14. Traitor

Ryan sat in the chair he was tied to. After waking up back in his cell everything had come crashing down on him like a pile of bricks.

Ray had betrayed them.

He'd staged the whole thing, and now their friends could very well be dead or dying because of him. Ryan felt sick and wanted to kill something, the anguish inside him boiling over. The thought that he may never see his friends alive again hung over him like a heavy blanket. Despite the anger and rage building up in him, Ryan felt sorry for Ray. What could've possibly pushed the Lad over the edge to do something so fucked up? And if any of the Crew did die how would Ray handle that? Ryan knew the Lad had been in a bad spot ever since the day that seemed so long ago when the accident happened, and had tried his best to be there for Ray, but obviously it hadn't helped. He closed his eyes and shook his head, this could not be happening. The door to his cell opened and he looked up hoping to see Ray, but instead it was two of the gang members. He frowned and sighed. They walked towards him and smirked.

"To be in the presence of the great Vagabond himself! What an honor!" one said sarcastically. Ryan rolled his eyes.

_How juvenile._ He thought as one of the men walked behind him. He felt a hand grip his hair and yank back. Ryan gritted his teeth as his head was pulled back painfully, determined not to let out a sound. Frowning down at him the man jabbed his thumbs under Ryan's jaw below the bone near the ears. Ryan's jaw on instinct opened from the pain and the man pulled out a red ballgag and shoved it deep into Ryan's mouth behind his teeth. Ryan grunted and shook his head but the man managed to secure the gag tightly behind Ryan's head. Stepping back and walking around to stand in front of him, the man stood there for a second before landing a punch on Ryan's face. Ryan shook his head to clear it and grunted. He prepared himself for what was about to happen, this not being the first rodeo he'd been to. Both men began punching him, landing blows on his head and chest and stomach. Ryan felt like shit and wondered if this was what Jeremy had been through when Bruce and Lawrence had tortured him. He wasn't that impressed with their tactics if he was being honest, it felt more to him like a couple guys blowing off some anger on a seemingly helpless victim rather than a form of extracting information. After several minutes of beating, Ryan heard a voice cry out from the door.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!" Ray yelled and ran in. Pushing the two men away from Ryan he pulled a knife out and brandished it threateningly at them while standing protectively in front of Ryan.

"What's the deal Narvaez?" one demanded.

"We're just having a little fun!" said the other looking upset that his "fun" had been interrupted.

"He killed three of our friends, I think a few punches are in order!" growled the first.

"I was promised he wouldn't be harmed! Keep your hands off him you fucking animals or I'll cut them off and shove them up your fucking asses! The others will tell each other stories of the two assholes who fucked me over and got the Extreme Fisting treatment!" Ray growled at them, causing both men to back up, faces pale. They knew better than to get on the bad side of the legendary Brownman. They stood a safe distance away but didn't leave, the first one glaring at Ryan and trying his hardest it seemed to blow up his head with telekinesis.

_Well, that'll come back to bite me later._ Ryan thought as his attention shifted back to his teammate.

Ray turned back to a panting Ryan. Ryan looked up at him with distrust in his eyes but at the moment Ray was his only friend and ally. Ray looked like he was going to cry at the sight of Ryan and set about tending to his wounds with a nearby med kit.

"Why the fuck is he gagged?" Ray demanded looking at the men with an icy death glare and pointed at the ballgag silencing Ryan. The men remained still and quiet, still glaring. Ray rolled his eyes and shot Ryan an apologetic look as he reached up and began to unfasten the gag. Ryan growled slightly and Ray hesitated but then continued and pulled the ball out of Ryan's mouth. Ryan flexed his jaw and felt it pop from the open position it had been forced into for so long.

"Vagabond I'm so fucking sorry!" he said quickly glancing over his shoulder and dabbing a damp cloth at Ryan's cuts on his face. Ryan remained silent, staring with a look that broke Ray's heart. A look that said, "I can't trust you anymore." Lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear Ray spoke again.

"Look Ryan, I don't expect you to understand why I did what I did, but please stop looking at me like that. I didn't mean for all this shit to happen. It wasn't even supposed to happen the way it did," he said. Ryan continued to stare at him, not even flinching as his cuts were cleaned and when Ray would accidentally press on one of his forming bruises.

"I swear this isn't what was supposed to happen! Trust me, if I'd known that these assholes would come to the penthouse and start fucking WWII I never would've gone through with it!" Ray said defensively. Ryan was still unconvinced, but he did sense that Ray was sorry.

"What if they're dead Ray?" Ryan asked softly, looking directly into Ray's eyes. The grief and sorrow in Ray's eyes made Ryan almost regret speaking but the Lad needed to understand the gravity of the situation. He needed to know just how far he'd gone.

"What if they hurt Gavin or Michael? What if they killed Jack? Do even realize what you've done?" Ryan continued in a flat calm voice. Ray shook his head trying to fight back tears and calm his breathing.

"If they did, then I'll burn these fuckers to the ground. Every last one of them!" he growled and bit his lip. Ryan almost smiled. That was the Ray he knew.

"What happened Ray? Why did you betray the Crew?" he asked after a moment of silence. Ray looked up, a strange look in his eye.

"You know why I did it Ry. This is my ticket out, and I'm not missing my chance!" he said.

"What do you mean? Were you planning on leaving the Crew?" Ryan asked. Ray nodded slowly.

"Then why the fuck go to this whole elaborate plan? Why attack the Crew? Why kidnap me?" Ryan asked again, growing confused. Ray flinched.

"Like I said Ry, it wasn't supposed to end up like this. It was supposed to look like I was killed in a confrontation with a rival gang. It was supposed to be a quick job and then I'd disappear after. They weren't supposed to come to the penthouse at all. And they sure as hell weren't supposed to take you," Ray explained as he continued to clean Ryan's wounds.

"Why do it Ray? You could've just walked away. None of us would've blamed you," Ryan said quietly.

"I didn't want to put that on Geoff. You know he'd blame himself for what happened that day. I figured if it looked like I'd died in a random scuffle it'd be easier on him to accept," Ray said shaking his head slowly.

"If that's really what you believe then you're the biggest fucking idiot in the world. You know Geoff would tear this city apart if one of us were killed in order to avenge us. Maybe he would've blamed himself for awhile for what happened that day, but at least he'd have the Crew to hold him together and the knowledge that you were alive and happy. What do you think will happen if the others are dead and it's just him and Jeremy left? Do you know what that would do to him? Do you know how he'd feel if he knew you betrayed us?" Ryan demanded, his voice straining to stay calm. Ray looked like he was about to break down.

"I don't expect you to understand. I regret what happened and believe me, if I could take it all back I would. But I can't and I've got to live with it Ryan," he said and stood. Ryan sighed.

"I don't suppose you could untie me?" Ryan asked changing the subject. Ray smiled sadly.

"I don't think that'd go over too well. They know how dangerous you are. I hope you cooperate with them as best you can, I don't think I can protect you from them forever. I promise you I'll do everything I can to make sure they don't hurt you," Ray said. Ryan shook his head.

"I feel sorry for you Ray. You had a good thing going with the Crew. You had friends who became family that loved you. I'm sorry you didn't feel comfortable enough to open up to them. I understand you better than anyone, but I wish you'd have trusted the others like you trusted me," Ryan said quietly. Ray looked at him sadly and then hung his head.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Save it for the Crew!" Ryan finally snapped. Ray looked hurt but didn't say anything. Turning to leave he walked past the men standing back watching. Turning on them he pointed threateningly.

"If he's harmed any further I'll personally make each of your lives a living hell!" he growled and stormed out the door. The men stood there for a minute in fear before one walked over to Ryan and inserted the ballgag back into his mouth before the two left. Ryan sat there alone, regret and sorrow filling his heart. Not because of his predicament, but because he knew that he'd lost Ray and that he could've done something to prevent his fall.

_I'm sorry too Ray. I'm sorry that I failed you._ He thought and hoped that his friends were safe, and that they were still alive.

~~~  
~~~

Ray was trembling as he walked down the hall towards the main room where he'd walked in and seen Ryan being tazed. Why the fuck did they bring him? And why did the plan change? He stormed through the door and walked right up to one of the men who'd walked in with him, the one who'd ordered Ryan be taken back to his cell, and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pinning him to the wall.

"Care to explain to me what the fuck happened?! We had a deal!" he almost shouted at the man as Ray pinned him up against the wall. The man simply smiled.

"We took a few creative liberties with our approach," he said. Ray narrowed his eyes, nearly trembling in rage.

"Those creative liberties could mean the death of my friends asshole so I suggest you wipe that fucking grin off your face before I carve it into a permanent frown! Why the hell did you take Vagabond?" he said.

"He's our bargaining chip. If Ramsey or any of the other Fakes decide to retaliate we have a hostage. He may come in handy too," the man said.

"Motherfucker that's my friend you're talking about! You already promised that nothing would happen to him. That you wouldn't hurt him!" Ray said, almost letting the desperation in his voice show.

"Relax kid, nothing will happen to the fucker so long as he cooperates and doesn't cause trouble," the man said.

"No Dax, I need you to promise that neither you or your little cronies over there will lay a hand on the Vagabond. Let me handle him. Swear it!" Ray demanded. Dax looked at Ray for a second and then sighed.

"Okay Narvaez, you win. I promise none of us will harm the Vagabond," he said, raising his hands in defeat. Ray sighed and released the man and turned to leave. He froze as Dax's next words hit him.

"But if he needs roughed up, or becomes a problem, I expect you to handle him and any clean up afterwards!" he snickered. Ray shivered and walked out of the room.

_What the fuck happened to me?_ He wondered putting his head in his hands as he leaned against the wall.


	15. Meeting B-Team

Jeremy woke with a start as he was shaken awake. He relaxed when he saw it was only Jack standing there, holding an icepack to his head.

"The others are almost here. Thought you'd want to be awake when they got here," Jack said softly with a gentle look. Jeremy nodded and sat up yawning.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"Only a couple hours. You seemed pretty tuckered out so we didn't want to wake you too soon," Jack said. Jeremy nodded.

"Thanks," he said with a small smile and hopped out of bed. He followed Jack out to the living room which, other than the bullet holes and signs of a fight, looked pretty normal now. The Crew must've been cleaning up the whole time he was asleep. Jeremy felt bad that he hadn't been up to help.

"You cleaned up? Sorry I didn't help," he said. Jack shook off the comment.

"Naw you're fine. We had nothing better to do and decided to make the place more presentable for when B-Team gets here," he said.

"That reminds me, who is this B-Team you guys keep mentioning?" Jeremy asked.

"They're the members of the Crew that do more of the behind the scenes stuff. They scout ahead for heists, do any research we need to find targets or better places to hit, erase our presence from scenes, etc. Sometimes they come on larger heists with us or do their own. You'll like them!" Geoff said coming around the corner wiping his hands with a white towel. Jeremy tried to remind himself that this Geoff, real Geoff, wasn't the one from his dream as he felt sick to his stomach at seeing his new boss.

"If they're anything like the rest of the Crew I'll be lucky if I survive the night!" Jeremy joked trying to make the feeling go away and they laughed which did help. Lindsay walked in and smiled awkwardly at him.

"Hey, Jeremy, I wanted to apologize for what I did to you earlier. I didn't know. I'm sorry," she said softly and shuffled her feet. Jeremy smiled.

"It's okay, there was no way for you to know I'd freak out. You were just protecting your family," he said and smiled with a forgiving nod. Lindsay looked relieved that Jeremy had forgiven her and smiled back.

"Hey Jeremy, are you okay? You had us worried for awhile," Geoff asked gently. Jeremy stood there for a minute, thinking of how he should respond.

"When Funhaus had me captive, they did some messed up shit to me. I really don't want to talk about it right now, but if R..the Vagabond hadn't showed up it would've ended a lot worse than it did. I'll be fine, I just have to learn how to handle it. I promise I won't let it interfere with me working for you," he said finally.

"Well, if you need to talk we're always here for you. Feel free to pull any of us aside if you need it," Jack offered and the others nodded. Jeremy smiled. He already liked his new crew.

"We're here for you Jeremy, you're family now. Don't forget that," Geoff said put a comforting hand on Jeremy's shoulder. The younger man looked up at his new boss and smiled.

_Family. That sounds nice!_ he thought.

The sound of the elevator alerted them that their awaited guests had arrived. Geoff and Lindsay walked out of the room to meet them while Jeremy remained in the kitchen with Jack, walking to the sink to get a drink of water.

"Well, if it isn't J-fucking-Doolz himself!"

Jeremy froze at the familiar voice and turned slowly, setting the cup on the counter beside him. A smile began to form on his face as he turned. He thought he'd never hear that voice again and as he looked he was filled with joy.

"Trevor! Matt! Holy shit you're B-Team?" Jeremy exclaimed. Trevor and Matt stood there smiling, Geoff and Lindsay behind them.

"You guys know each other?" Geoff asked confused.

"I play games online with these fuckers! I've known Matt and Trevor for years!" Jeremy explained as he high fived his friends.

"You should've seen how excited Trevor got when he heard that Geoff was bringing you in!" Matt said.

"It was like when Matt learned that a taco truck drove by his house regularly," Trevor chuckled earning a playful punch to the shoulder from Matt. There was a cough from behind Geoff and the group split to reveal another man and woman.

"Jeremy, meet the rest of B-Team. This is Andy Blanchard and Mica Burton!" Trevor said, introducing the two. Jeremy shook their hands and greeted them. The two smiled at Jeremy.

"Okay, let's get planning!" Geoff said and the group walked towards the conference room. Trevor looked around at the signs of the fight.

"I love what you've done with the place Geoff!" he said, causing Matt and Jeremy to giggle.

"It's like having all the Lads back here again," Geoff groaned. The group gathered in the room and Geoff brought them all up to speed.

"Where are Gavin and Michael?" Matt asked.

"Gavin is keeping Michael safe at one of our secret safe houses. I came from there when I got here," Lindsay explained with a pained look in her eyes. Geoff put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"We'll understand if you go to be with him. In fact you ought to," he said. Lindsay shook her head.

"I need to be here to help run things from here while the rescue goes down. I'll have Michael on call or FaceTime so I can check up on him. And I told Gavin that if anything happens to him then I'll be coming for him," she said. The group laughed, picturing the pale frightened expression on the Brit's face.

After Geoff brought everyone up to speed he opened the meeting up to suggestions. Ideas were thrown out left and right from the Fakes and B-Team, some absolutely ludicrous while others almost an actual plan, but most being shot down. Jeremy sat there listening and watching quietly while trying to figure out how he could help save Ryan and Ray and bring them home safely. The whole time something nagged at the back of his mind.

"What do you think Jeremy?"

Jeremy almost jumped when he heard his name suddenly and saw that the others were staring at him expectantly.

"Well, these guys obviously are serious about what they're doing, based off of the attack and the kidnapping. But something just doesn't seem right here," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"Like why they would dare attack your..our main headquarters when they knew that Vagabond was here? They know how dangerous he is. What made them attack in the first place? Who are these Inquisitors?" Jeremy asked as he thought hard.

"We need info on these fuckers. Locations, leaders, member counts, how heavily armed are they?" he continued. Geoff looked at the four members of B-Team.

"We know they're a new faction that just formed about three weeks ago. They seem to be trying to expand their territory, already giving crews and gangs trouble across Los Santos. The Roosters and Creatures suffered heavily from them last week but managed to hold them off. They seem to fight in small packs, usually only a dozen or so, but we have reason to believe their member count is well into the hundreds, with new members joining everyday," Mica said. Jeremy noted all this and thought for a minute.

"Do they have a main headquarters set up?" he asked.

"For a gang that large I would assume so. My contacts tell me the main group seems to be located just west of Mount Chilliad, on the outskirts of the city where the LSPD don't seem to have many patrols. Pretty smart location if you ask me," Mica said pointing to a location on the map she'd been unfolding onto the table. The group all huddled around to look at the map. Jeremy nodded. The outskirts were where he'd run a lot of his bigger jobs from as he'd grown up and grown into the criminal life. It made sense that they'd choose a quiet, obscure area to make their base of operations. It was remote and like Mica said, not many cops.

"How do they recruit?" Jeremy asked. Mica looked up at him for a moment then replied.

"They seem to be leaving small hint messages around the city about where recruiting stations have been set up. I haven't been able to figure any of them out yet though. There doesn't seem to be a lot of talk about them on the streets, like one big club. Like Fight Club," she said. The others chuckled at the reference. She explained some of the signs to Jeremy as he closed his eyes and concentrated hard.

"There! What was that last one?" he interrupted her.

"A graffiti sketch of a CD disk that had the word "Great" on it. Why?" Mica asked.

"Whatcha got Jeremy?" Geoff asked. Jeremy opened his eyes and smiled.

"Great? A disk shape? They mean the sewers! It was a picture of the manhole cover grate. I used to use the sewers as quick travel routes around the city! It's actually how I evaded you that day you fucked up my bank job!" he said, smirking at Geoff at the last part and enjoying his frown as this information sank in.

"THAT'S how you got away?! The fucking sewers? When I get my hands on the Lads..." Geoff exclaimed, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists while the room erupted in laughter.

"Okay but how does knowing they hang out in shit help us?" Lindsay asked. Jeremy swallowed.

"Well I do have one idea," he said slowly.

"What is it?" Lindsay asked.

"You're not going to like it," he warned. Jack looked skeptical and Geoff narrowed his eyes before they widened and he started to shake his head.

"No! Absolutely not! It's too risky!" he shouted.

"It's the best way to find them Geoff. They'll be calling in the morning and we don't know if they have ransom demands or are just going to fuck with us. You know this is the best option we have," Jeremy said calmly and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I'm confused, what're we doing?" asked Matt.

"Jeremy's gonna do something stupid!" Geoff huffed, rolling his eyes and throwing his arms up in the air. All eyes turned to Jeremy.

"Yup. I'm going to join the Inquisitors and find our men by being the inside man!" he said.

  
~~~  
~~~

Jeremy had had better ideas, then again he'd had worse. He wasn't quite sure where this idea fell.

_Probably worse._ he thought to himself.

Walking the darkened streets of Los Santos the young man trudged to the spot where Mica had shown him on the map where the graffiti signal had been drawn. This wasn't quite the bad side of town, but Jeremy was glad he'd remembered to bring his knife along. Locating the graffiti he noticed several youths loitering nearby and was on instant alert. The gang members who'd died at the penthouse hadn't had any distinguishing clothing or markings so these could be members or maybe perspectives. Or not even involved with the Inquisitors. Either way, Jeremy wasn't going to let them stop him from getting his job done.

It's just like running my old solo jobs. In and out, get it done and collect the payout. Only this time the pay is the lives of my friends and coworkers. he thought as he looked around for a manhole cover. The kids nearby looked to be between the ages of 17 and 19, and they held bats and nunchucks. Jeremy chuckled a little. These kids didn't know what they were doing. They simply were trying to look intimidating. But any good thug, even the shittiest ones, knew to keep their weapons concealed until the moment they struck. It was all about establishing a presence of fear, quick strikes to send messages, not standing around waiting for trouble to find them.

Finding the manhole cover Jeremy bent down and started to move it. He flinched at how loud it sounded and glanced up to see that the youths were staring at him intently as if to see what would happen next. Jeremy grew slightly anxious at that but continued. Managing to move the manhole grate out of the way he turned the flashlight he'd brought with him on and shined it down the hole, locating a ladder near him. Taking a deep breath Jeremy started to descend down the ladder, casting one last look at the teens. They were smiling. That wasn't a good sign. He shivered but continued, holding the flashlight between his teeth.

He reached the bottom of the ladder and shone the flashlight down the dank, smelly tunnel. There was nothing there. Jeremy walked forward cautiously and continued his journey down the dark tunnel. He walked for about 10 minutes before he spotted it. A light! Making his way slowly towards it he could just barely make out a few sounds, grunts and the sounds of punches being landed on skin. As he neared the light he stopped, calming his breathing and nerves.

_Remember, you're doing this for Ryan and Ray. Don't fuck up and start freaking out!_ he thought to himself. He remembered the night Ryan had awkwardly held him after his nightmare and smiled, feeling himself relax. That's when he heard it. A soft gentle footfall. He knew he was being followed and was about to turn to shine his light on the intruder when he was grabbed roughly and shoved against the wall of the sewer. He felt a knee in his gut, pressing against him, and an arm across his chest pinning him tightly against the wall. He'd dropped his flashlight in the struggle, it shining dimly on the floor in who knows what gross liquid substance was there. He struggled just enough to make it look convincing.

"Well if I ain't gone and caught myself a lil sewer rat!" the male voice said in front of him. The man was bigger than Jeremy from what he could see and feel. Definitely not someone he'd enjoy tussling with on the streets. He felt a knife press against his throat and the man holding him sneered.

"What're you doing down here rat?" he hissed. Jeremy narrowed his eyes and responded.

"Looking for a job opportunity I recently heard about," he said darkly. There was silence for a moment before the knife was removed and the arm across his chest loosened slightly. He felt the man patting him down and feeling for any weapons. A slight sense of panic filled Jeremy as the man searched him but he remembered Ryan and his words of comfort and relaxed again.

"Okay, march and don't fuck with anything. We don't take kindly to greenies fucking up our shit!" the man said after removing Jeremy's knife and shoved him forward towards the light.

As they approached Jeremy saw that they were in the part of the sewer that connected to the subway tunnels, the area being dryer and having a few abandoned control rooms from where workers had once operated the subway cars before the tracks moved. There were people milling about looking like they were busy. Several looked up at Jeremy as he was directed towards one of the control rooms. The man behind him, a mountainous giant compared to Jeremy, shoved him through the door roughly and Jeremy took a moment to glare at the man before turning his gaze to the room. It was set up much like the FAHC planning room, table in the center with a few chairs around, write on wipe off board and a couple of dying plants in the corners. The smell of tobacco smoke filled the room and Jeremy directed his attention to the only human in the room other than himself and gigantor behind him.

He was sitting in one of the far chairs, a manilla folder in his hands that he'd been leafing through before they'd entered. He wore a black vest and fedora, a grey button up shirt under the vest, a gold chain looping out of the pocket which Jeremy assumed was attached to a pocket watch. The man had a cigarette that he was puffing on, the source of the tobacco smell.

"Jimmy what is this? I'm busy working," the man said glaring up over the rims of his reading glasses at the giant man standing behind Jeremy.

"Found him wondering around in the sewers boss. He says he's looking for a job," Jimmy said. The man looked back at Jeremy and looked him over while puffing away at his cigar.

"You look capable enough. What's your name kid?" he asked.

"Tim. They call me Rimmy Tim," Jeremy said without hesitation. Jimmy snickered and the boss man raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"And why do you think you'd do well in our fine establishment Rimmy Tim?" he asked. Jeremy smirked and held up the object he'd been concealing.

"I've got sticky fingers for one thing," he said.

_Hmm, phrasing. I'll have to work on that. DAMMIT!_ he thought.

The two men stared and then Jimmy growled and snatched his wallet back from Jeremy, who'd taken the liberty of stealing it when the mountain of a man had pinned him to the sewer wall.

"So you're a thief. As are half my men out there. Anything else?" bossman said looking unimpressed.

"I can blend in anywhere and go unnoticed by anyone. I even evaded the FAHC and their dog the Vagabond when they were hunting me down," Jeremy said sounding like he did this on a daily basis. The leader sat up straighter and raised an eyebrow.

"Now THAT is interesting!" he said with a grin. Jeremy looked as if he didn't understand but shrugged.

"And why were the Fakes after you?" bossman asked.

"I don't know, something about discovering some of their safe houses and blowing them up. I mean, you blow up some lousy buildings to blow off some steam and suddenly you're public enemy number one!" Jeremy said with an indignant tone. He hoped that this was working, otherwise he'd be in a pickle.

"Interesting. Do you have proof that you did these things? Or are you just blowing words out of your face?" bossman asked. Jeremy narrowed his eyes but nodded. Slowly he lifted his shirt to show his scars Lawrence had inflicted on him.

"These were a lovely gift from Ramsey himself before he ate shit," Jeremy said and then lowered his shirt.

"What do you mean?" bossman asked.

"That son of a bitch had it coming. He tried to recruit me into his little club but when he found out what I'd done he gave me these, so I returned the favor and took his fingers!" Jeremy said and pulled out a small object wrapped in a cloth and tossed it to bossman. The man slowly unwrapped the object to see three bloody tattooed fingers that looked very much like the crime lord's. Jeremy thanked the stars that one of Trevor's skills was making realistic replicas of human body parts, a fucked up talent, but a good one none the less. He looked up and smiled at Jeremy.

"You must be pretty clever too to figure out our code to this station," he said.

"It actually wasn't that hard," Jeremy said.

_Dammit Dooley!_ he thought.

"Jimmy, spread the word and get Tim here some assignments. It looks like the Inquisitors have a new member!" bossman said. Jeremy sighed inwardly and smiled at his new "boss".

Everything was going according to plan.

_Hold on guys, I'm coming for you!_ Jeremy thought as he and bossman shook hands.


	16. Plan B?

Ryan sat silently for two hours before he acted. Breaking out of his bonds wasn't too challenging and he only fucked up a couple times before his hands and feet were freed. Pulling the ballgag out of his mouth he was going to chuck it across the room but then remembered he was trying not to make noise, gently setting it on the floor. Rubbing his wrists to get the feeling back into them he wondered about the room, searching for anything useful. The syringes that he'd stollen earlier had be taken from him as had the gun he'd liberated from the dead guard who'd snuck up on him.

Seeing nothing of use Ryan sighed and crept to the door and listened. He stood there for ten minutes and after hearing nothing he slowly opened the door.

_Again with the lack of locking your doors!_ he thought as he peered into the hallway. The coast was clear so Ryan darted out quietly and made his way down the hall then took a right turn. He paused and listened, scanning for any security cameras. Again, nothing. Shrugging it off Ryan moved with the grace and speed of a panther, stalking its prey.

_More like a puma really_. he thought as he traveled down the maze of halls. There were no windows anywhere or ways to see out of the building so he had no way of knowing where he was. There was a muffled and distant rumble and the floor shook slightly. Ryan wondered what it could've been so he made his way down the hall towards the sound. Finally reaching it he saw that the room he was in opened out into a giant cavern with walkways with safety rails all around. Making his way to the end of one of these rails he looked down and gasped.

Below him was a giant hole. The walls were dirt and rock and if he looked up he could see a faint light far above. The sounds of drilling and excavation could be heard below him and he started to put two and two together.

_The reason there were no windows is because we're underground! We're INSIDE Mount Chilliad!_ he thought. He backed away from the railing and looked up to see if the walkways went all the way to the top. They did not, which made Ryan feel discouraged.

_Well there goes that plan!_ he thought and made his way back down the hall he'd come from. He knew he didn't have much time before his absence was discovered so he needed to move fast. He committed his path to memory and took note of structural weaknesses that he could exploit later. He needed to escape and get back to Geoff and Jeremy. He needed to know if his friends were still alive. He suddenly found himself thinking about Jeremy, whether or not he'd decided to join the Crew, worrying that he was having nightmares and that he wasn't there for him to help him, that he'd left Jeremy alone.

Ryan shook his head. Now wasn't the time to become distracted. He needed to concentrate on escape so he could get back to the others. He walked quietly down the hallways, searching for a way of escape.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy walked back into the sewer headquarters after finishing his fifth job that day. He was blazing through the assignments he was given, trying his best to impress his boss. Most of them were easy and he didn't even really need to try, which was great for him because he didn't fully want to show what he could do just yet. He walked into the bossman's office and tossed the job folders on the table.

"Done already?" he asked, obviously surprised. Jeremy nodded and looked bored but smiled on the inside. This was working out perfectly.

"Your jobs are too easy. Surely you've got some bigger and better assignments for me to do? I don't feel like I'm contributing to the cause the best I can," Jeremy said hoping the boss would fall for it. The man sat there scratching his chin and gazing over the files and reports with an impressed expression. He was thinking which have Jeremy hope.

"I think I may have something for you. Granted it's nothing big or exciting, but I can promise it's dangerous and will help the cause greater than you could ever imagine," he said looking up suddenly. Jeremy smiled.

"As long as I'm contributing I'm good. What's the gig?" he asked. Bossman reached into the file cabinet behind him and fetched a small folder.

"Our main headquarters needs some supplies. They're doing some reconstruction and need mining equipment and explosives," he explained and handed Jeremy the folder. Jeremy leafed through it, a confused expression working its way onto his face.

"Why would they need all this shit?" he asked looking up. Bossman smiled and explained.

"Because our main headquarters is located INSIDE Mount Chilliad," he said. Jeremy gasped, genuinely surprised.

"The authorities would never think to look inside the mountain! Smart!" he exclaimed with a smile.

_Also a smart place to hide Ryan and Ray. No one would come mounting an attack. We hadn't even thought about this!_ Jeremy thought to himself as his boss laughed. He was sent out and given directions of where to get the supplies, a construction site not too far away where some of their members worked and had hidden away the supplies without their foreman knowing. As Jeremy drove he thought about how he was going to get his men out of the inside of a fucking mountain. Sticking the small, skin tone communicator in his ear he prayed that Geoff had heard the entire conversation.

"You got all that boss?" he asked. He'd been hesitant to make contact with the Crew because he wasn't sure if his car had been bugged. It took him a good three hours to find and remove all the wires the Inquisitors had installed in his car, phone, and home.

"Got it Lil J! Lindsay is working out a plan of attack with B-Team as we speak. Go ahead and pick up the supplies. I'm going to have Trevor and Matt meet you at the construction site," Geoff explained. Jeremy frowned.

"Won't the guys at Chilliad be expecting only me to show up? What happens when three of us appear?" he asked as he weaved his way through traffic.

"They'll stow away in your car and then sneak out when you get there. Mica has already scouted the area and seen that the containers of supplies you'll be taking are large plastic barrels. They've been shipping them out from there for months now but we never gave it a second thought," Geoff explained. Jeremy thought for a minute.

"How the hell am I supposed to fit all this shit plus the guys in my car?" he asked. His car wasn't big at all and could barely fit three people comfortably, for if you didn't mind getting cozy with one another.

"When you get to the site they'll direct you to a truck like the movie trucks we see here in town. Only this one is unmarked and is full of deadly explosives instead of tea sets," Geoff said drawing a giggle from someone in the room with him. Jeremy smiled and nodded.

"And when I get there and deliver the goods?" he asked. He hoped Geoff would give him the all clear to get Ryan and Ray out of there.

"Impress the leader, get a tour of the facility and get info on their plans. If you can find Vagabond and Brownman let them know we're coming for them but don't attempt rescue until we arrive. Trevor and Matt will be doing recon as well and setting detonators around the joint," Geoff ordered.

"We're going to level the place?" Jeremy asked not at all surprised.

"These motherfuckers attacked us, hurt Jack and Michael, kidnapped two of our own, fuck yeah we're leveling the damn place!" Geoff exclaimed. Jeremy smiled. He liked Geoff more and more as he got to know him. The man would fuck over God himself if he knew He'd hurt one of his boys. Loyalty to the Crew was a big thing for Geoff, not only because they were his crew, but because they were his family.

_I sure as hell am glad I'm on the family's side now!_ Jeremy thought as he and Geoff wrapped up their conversation.

He pulled up to the construction site a few minutes later and handed the folder to one of the workmen who nodded and directed Jeremy to a nearby moving truck that had been painted grey. Jeremy scowled at it when he saw it.

"What's wrong?" asked the foreman who'd walked with him over to the truck.

"The color. It's just kinda, gross," Jeremy said. The foreman stared at him not knowing what to say.

"Green would've been way nicer. Or even purple and orange!" Jeremy said excited. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Matt and Trevor making their way to the truck.

"We..we could repaint it or get another one if this one doesn't suit you sir," the foreman offered weakly. Jeremy shrugged and shook his head.

"No, I've wasted enough time as it is. This'll have to do," he said and climbed up into the driver's seat. Matt and Trevor were scrunched down in the passenger seat and floor and Jeremy rolled his eyes trying not to laugh. He drove down the road a ways before his two friends got up into the seats.

"Damn that hurt!" Matt said massaging his neck.

"I was sure he was gonna spot us," Trevor said and slowly put the pistol he'd been holding away.

"Trevor! What the fuck?" Jeremy shouted.

"What? It was a preliminary precaution. I call her The D. When I ask people if they want the d and they say yes I just whip out this bad girl and let em have it," Trevor explained. Jeremy and Matt stared at him before bursting out laughing.

"That's the most fucked up thing I've heard you say!" Jeremy said wiping away tears.

"You obviously haven't talked to me that much," Trevor said with a smile and the trio began laughing again.

"Damn it's good to be back together guys! Even if we aren't killing brutes and saving the universe," Matt said. The three agreed and soon lapsed into silence. They went over the plan a few times and worked through as many scenarios that could go wrong as possible before Mt Chilliad grew close. The mountain had been there forever, no one knowing if it was a mountain or a volcano. Jeremy hoped it was the mountain. The thought of molten lava raining down on the city and more importantly him was not at all appealing.

"You guys think we can get Vagabond and Brownman out?" Matt asked as he looked over the bag of guns, ammo, and explosives he'd brought with him.

"I sure as hell hope so!" Jeremy breathed, nervous for Ryan and hoping the two were okay.

_Stay alive Ryan, please stay alive!_ he thought and sped up.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan peeked around the corner when he heard the voices. He saw three of the gang members casually talking and hanging out like they were at the fucking mall on a Sunday. He couldn't make out their words but they didn't seem to be on alert.

_Good, they haven't discovered I've escaped yet._ he thought as he watched them for another moment before retreating back a few feet down the hall he'd come down. He wasn't sure how he was going to escape the mountain, but he knew there had to be a way. Somehow he needed to send a message to Geoff and tell him where he and Ray were, that they were alive.

_And find out if the others are alive._ he thought as he ducked into a storage closet to avoid the group of people walking down the hall he'd just seen. Looking around the closet he tried to think of some way to build a communication device of sorts. There wasn't much to work with but there were some workmans jumpsuits that looked like they'd fit him. A thought crossed his mind and he grabbed one and put it on over his clothes. Peeking out to see if the coast was clear he darted to the nearest bathroom and washed the face paint off, then removed the band holding his small ponytail back, allowing his hair to flow freely as he ran his hands through it and adjusted it the way he liked. Looking in the mirror he smiled.

He was a whole new person.

Taking a deep breath Ryan stepped out of the bathroom and walked down the hall in a confident stride.

_Sell it Haywood, you gotta sell it._ he thought as he strode down the hall. He hoped his disguise would work, seeing as only Jeremy and Ray had ever seen his real face. As he walked he caught himself humming the song _Barbie Girl_ , the tune reminding him of the drive back to the penthouse he and Jeremy took. He smiled thinking of that day and the fun that the two men had had.

_I wonder how Jeremy is holding up?_ Ryan wondered. He felt very protective of the younger man. Sure he was that way with the whole Crew, having a sort of father-like love for them, but with Jeremy it was different. He wanted to protect the Lad with a burning passion.

Ryan's thoughts were interrupted when he rounded another corner and nearly ran into a couple of gang members. He stumbled over an apology and stood in a stiff uncomfortable hesitation, hoping that they didn't recognize him. They looked at him for a minute before the woman smiled.

"Hi, I'm Ashley, Ashley Jenkins!" she said happily and extended her hand. Ryan breathed a silent sigh of relief and smiled back, shaking her hand.

"I'm..Ryan," he said hesitating slightly. The man smiled too and also shook Ryan's hand.

"Nice to meet you Ryan, I'm Chris Demarais," he said. Ryan nodded and then noticed Ashley was staring at him.

"What? Is something wrong with my hair?" Ryan asked and pretended to be horrified as he reached up to his head. Ashley smiled.

"No no, it's just..I haven't ever seen you here before," she said shaking her head. Ryan stiffened and felt a slight tremor of fear that his cover had been blown.

"You must be one of the new ones! We get a fresh batch every once in awhile," Chris exclaimed. Ryan smiled.

"Yeah I'm new alright. What did you mean by 'new batch'?" he asked. Ashley giggled.

"You really are new aren't you? You're a maintenance worker aren't you? We get a few of you here every few weeks or so to help maintain this place," she explained pointing at Ryan's jumpsuit. He looked at it then nodded, smacking his forehead with his palm.

"Completely forgot in the spur of the moment. Sorry," he apologized and smiled weakly. The two smiled back.

"No problem! Glad to help," Chris said. Ryan shuffled awkwardly and looked like he had something on his mind.

"Whatcha got big guy?" Ashley asked.

"I'm sort of lost. This place is like a damn labyrinth and I'm all turned around," Ryan admitted. The two gave him knowing sympathetic looks and smiled.

"Don't worry it totally is! Where do you need to go?" Ashley asked.

"Um, well finding a place to sleep would be okay but also an exit of sorts, my cell reception in here is shit and I'm expecting a call from my mom," Ryan explained. The two looked at each other and nodded.

"Come on, we'll show ya where you can crash and then take you topside," Chris said smiling and turning.

"It's not too much of a bother is it? I wouldn't want to impose," Ryan said. The two would hear none of it, saying they were all too happy to help. They led Ryan down a few hallways until they came to a door labeled "Sleeping Quarters". Ryan paid close attention to the route they'd taken and smiled at the two thanking them. They explained that this is where the main workers and lower level gang members like them stayed, the nicer one room cabins reserved for higher level members and leaders. Ryan listened and nodded the whole time, paying close attention and committing it all to memory.

"Alright let's head topside so you can catch that call!" Ashley said, grabbing Ryan by the arm and leading him away with a laugh, Chris following. Ryan wasn't sure what to make of these two, but they seemed like nice people. He wondered how they'd gotten involved in a gang like this, but then again he hadn't been much different from them before he entered criminal life.

"It's just up ahead there," Chris said cheerfully, pointing towards a hangar with its large metal doors open. There were a few workers milling about, a couple guards, and one gang member walking up to a truck that was pulling in. He turned and smiled at the two.

"Hey thanks! I really appreciate it, you guys are lifesavers!" he said.

"No problem big guy! Maybe we'll run into you again some time and we can all hang out and have a beer or something," Ashley offered. Ryan nodded and turned towards his freedom.

And froze.

The driver of the truck had hopped out and had began talking to the gang member there. There was no doubt, even from this distance. Ryan had seen this man before and the sight of him was enough to freeze him to the spot. That hair, that height and build, that voice. Ryan swallowed hard.

It was Jeremy!


	17. Infiltration

After Jeremy dropped Trevor and Matt off at the entrance to the Inquisitors' base he followed the directions his "boss" had given him on how to deliver the supplies. Driving into the cave ahead of him he saw that it was actually an old abandoned aircraft hangar built into the mountain, forgotten by time. The doors were made of something like steel or concrete and looked blast proof so there went the obvious first plan of blowing the joint to hell. He noticed a surprising lack of guards as he drove through the entrance, spotting only two, one of which stopped him and asked him for identification and a work order which Jeremy handed over happily. Now with permission to enter Jeremy pulled forward and parked.

_Step one done. Now the interesting part._ he thought as he hopped out of the truck and walked up to the man he assumed he was to meet who he'd noticed walking towards him as he'd pulled in.

"Rimmy Tim?" the man asked raising an eyebrow. Jeremy nodded and extended his hand.

"That's me. And you'd be?" he asked. The man shook his hand and smiled warmly.

"Miles Luna. Pleasure," Miles said. Jeremy smiled back and the two lapsed into a friendly conversation. A movement caught Jeremy's eye off to his right but he ignored it for the moment but kept it in his peripherals as he continued his conversation with Miles.

"So how big is this place? I'm new to the Inquisitors and I've never seen a setup like this before!" Jeremy asked, hoping Miles would take the bait.

"It's pretty big. It's really confusing at first but you get the hang of it after awhile. Would you like a tour?" Miles asked excitedly. Jeremy smiled and nodded eagerly, turning to follow Miles. The plan was working perfectly so far. He looked up and nearly gasped at the familiar face that met his eyes only a few yards away.

_Ryan?_

He looked...normal. Like a real person again, his mask and face paint gone and his leather jacket exchanged for a workmans outfit. He was staring at Jeremy with relief and fear and Jeremy slowly and almost unnoticeably shook his head as he followed Miles down the hall, his eyes warning his friend not to give him away. Ryan seemed to understand and nodded slightly, offering a small smile as he walked towards the entrance of the hangar. Jeremy hurried to follow Miles, asking questions about the man as if he were trying to get to know him, the man almost too happy to answer any question asked.

_How'd this guy wind up in a gang like this? He's so...nice._ Jeremy wondered as he and Miles walked down the halls, Jeremy making careful mental notes of the layout. He tried not to wonder about Ryan and why he looked like he worked at the fucking place, hoping he was okay, and wishing he could be with his friend. And where the hell was Ray?

"And this is our command center where we assign missions and plan heists from!" Miles said cheerfully as he walked into a larger room. There were only a few people but they all looked up at Miles in annoyance and glared at Jeremy.

"Friendly place," he said sarcastically, earning an embarrassed look from Miles.

"Year sorry about them. Not all of us know how to be civil around here!" he said, raising his voice at the end so everyone could hear. Jeremy caught a couple flipping Miles off and shrugged.

"Guess manners just aren't for everyone," he said and noticed a man walking towards them. He didn't look happy.

"What're you doing Luna? Who is this?" the man asked crossing his arms and looking down at Jeremy. Miles smiled.

"Just showing a new recruit around Dax. This is Rimmy Tim, he was sent up from Luther this afternoon, so you know he checks out!" he explained. Jeremy tried to think of where he'd heard the name Dax before but was drawing up a blank as he raised an eyebrow at Miles.

"Checks out?" he asked. Miles nodded.

"Yeah! You're trustworthy, hard working, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Basically if you're here and Luther sent you, you're something special," he explained. Jeremy was flattered. Get a few jobs done quick enough and you earn the undying trust of your leader.

Gang life was weird.

"I just do my best to get the job done," he said with a shrug but couldn't help blushing slightly at the praise.

"Well show him around and then either send him on his way or give him an assignment and get out of my hair, we're busy here," Dax ordered and gave a nod at Jeremy before turning and walking away.

"Really rolls out the welcome mat huh?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah he's a charmer. Anyway I'll show you the last few areas before we decide what to do," Miles said and turned to leave. Jeremy turned to follow and crashed into a man standing there with his arms crossed. He was about the same height as Jeremy and as Jeremy looked to apologize he froze and went pale.

It was Ray, and he was glaring at Jeremy.

~~~  
~~~

Geoff rubbed his face with both his hands and looked at the map and papers in front of him. Lindsay was the only one in the room with him, the others retreating to their rooms or to the living room to play video games.

"Do you think this will work?" he asked looking up at Lindsay.

"I hope so. If we manage to pull this off then not only will we have a better chance of getting Vagabond and Brownman back, but we'll also be more powerful and have better chances of keeping our people safe in the long run from attacks like these," she said rubbing her eyes. Geoff felt bad for her, the poor girl had been awake far longer than she should've been. Her overwhelming sense of duty to the Crew was admirable.

"Lindsay, go to sleep. I'll finish up here. Tomorrow I'll start making preparations and you're going to go and see your husband," Geoff ordered in his, no nonsense-dad voice. Lindsay looked like she was about to protest but Geoff just shook his head and pointed to the door.

"I need you to be alert and undistracted for what we're about to pull off tomorrow. Please, do it for Michael if anything," he said. Lindsay gave Geoff a thankful look and managed to walk to her bedroom before collapsing. Geoff sighed, looked at the papers again and closed his eyes.

_Here goes nothing. Please let this work!_ he thought as he pulled out his phone and made a call.

~~~  
~~~

Ray glared down at Jeremy as the younger man thought desperately for something to say.

"I..uh..erm..sorry about that bud," he finally stammered out weakly. Ray just narrowed his eyes before moving out of the way, Jeremy scrambling to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"What was that all about?" Miles asked when they were in the hall.

"Do you know who that was?" Jeremy asked, pretending to be in awe as he thought fast.

"Not really but we get loads of new people here all the time," Miles said growing curious.

"That was the legendary Brownman! Best sniper in the state!" Jeremy exclaimed. Miles stared blankly at him for a moment before realization kicked in.

"Holy shit! Really?" he asked and Jeremy nodded furiously.

"But I thought he worked for the FAHC? Why is he here?" Miles asked.

_That's exactly what I was wondering!_ Jeremy thought as he shrugged.

Miles showed him the rest of the place and explained each room and it's purpose as they went. Jeremy had to admit that Miles had been right, the place was very complicated and someone could easily get lost. They finally started making their way back to the hangar, Miles continuing to chatter as Jeremy thought furiously of a way to get Ryan and Ray out.

_Why did Ryan look like he was working here? And Ray, why was he in the command center? They didn't...no! They couldn't have! Could they?_ he thought, not liking where this train of thought was leading him. He shook his head, knowing Ryan would never do such a thing. He needed answers but he also needed to let Geoff and B-Team know what he'd discovered.

As they were just entering the hangar an alarm blared and yellow warning lights flashed on the walls. Jeremy instinctively crouched and looked for something to use as a weapon. Miles checked his phone and became deathly pale.

"We need to go, now!" he said pulling Jeremy by the arm back down the hall they'd come from, being joined by other people rushing to a pre-determined location.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked stopping in his tracks and looking at Miles. The man looked terrified.

"We need to get to our quarters and hunker down while security and the upper level members handle this situation!" he said and started to walk again. Jeremy halted again, resolved not to leave until he had an answer.

"What situation?" he demanded. Miles swallowed and looked around nervously before replying.

"A prisoner seems to have escaped his cell and could be roaming free around here. He's very dangerous and we could all die! We need to go!" he said.

"What prisoner?" Jeremy asked.

"The Vagabond for gods sake man! C'mon we need to go!" Miles exclaimed and pulled Jeremy along with him. Jeremy glanced back at the hangar doors, his only chance to get word out to Geoff, Matt, and Trevor, and saw them closing. He paled as he watched his best chance at saving his friends slowly seal shut, trapping him in.

_Fuck!_ he thought, finally allowing Miles to drag him down the hall to the living quarters. Jeremy was shown to his own room since he was an Inquisitor, the normal workers all sharing a larger living space. He opened the door to his cabin and walked in, turning to shut the door, only to come face to face with Ray.

Jeremy yelped as Ray shoved his way in, closing the door behind him and shoving Jeremy up against the wall all in one fluid motion. Ray motioned for Jeremy to remain quiet as he glanced at the door and waited a couple minutes before visibly relaxing, though still keeping Jeremy against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" he hissed finally. Jeremy swallowed.

"I'm here to get you and R..Vagabond out. Geoff and I were warned of the attack and rushed back as soon as we could. We thought you all were dead!" he hastily explained. Ray gave an odd look, like he was calculating his next move and his next words.

"How'd you know where to find us?" he asked slowly. Jeremy continued.

"Jack told us what happened and then B-Team showed up and we got a phone call saying that there would be a follow up call tonight about how we were to proceed. They told us they had both of you and if we wanted to see you again we needed to wait for orders," he said. Ray seemed surprised by this news but continued questioning Jeremy.

"Jack and the others, they're safe? No one's hurt?"

"Well, Michael got shot but from what I hear he's okay, and Jack got hit in the head by something so he's got a pretty bad headache but should be okay," Jeremy explained and then stopped, suspicion rising within him and he narrowed his eyes.

"How come you're walking around like you own the damn place? I thought they kidnapped you and Vagabond," he said. Ray started for a second before sighing and shaking his head. He released Jeremy and began pacing the room while the younger man watched him intently.

"That's not important right now. We can't let them know we know each other or that you're undercover. From the sound of that alarm Vagabond managed to escape. I've been doing my best to protect him from them but I don't know how much longer I can keep him safe. If you see him please talk to him!" Ray finally said. Jeremy was taken aback but slowly nodded. Ray smiled in relief and then walked to the door. After peering out he nodded at Jeremy and then darted out into the hall. Jeremy shook his head and tried his hidden com.

Dead.

_Figures. First field assignment and I've already fucked myself!_ he thought as he sat on his bed and tried to think of a plan.

~~~

Ryan had walked towards the entrance after seeing Jeremy. Seeing his friend here was both shocking and terrifying to him, one because he was glad to see a familiar, friendly face and two, because he knew Jeremy was in danger the longer he stayed here. As he made his way to the entrance he tried to think.

_I can leave now and try to get to Geoff and the others, but I'd be leaving Jeremy and Ray here on their own. Think Haywood, think!_ he yelled mentally at himself. He was stopped by a fellow workman who someone managed to drag him into unloading the truck that Jeremy had just driven in. Seeing the amount of explosives gave Ryan an idea. When he was sure no one was watching he snuck a brick of C4 into his jumpsuit pocket and located a detonator for it, also stashing that away. He wasn't sure how much he'd need but he'd hold on to this small brick for the right moment. After helping unload the truck, which took way too long in his eyes, Ryan turned to return to the front doors. He heard Jeremy's voice returning up from the hall he'd gone down and wondered if he should make a run for it now or try to form a plan with Jeremy.

Just then an alarm blared, causing Ryan to jump. People rushed to and fro in a panic and the guards listened to their earpieces intently. Ryan took another step towards the door when something caught hold of his arm. He whirled around to see Chris there looking worried.

"Ryan! We gotta go buddy!" he said urgently and pulled on Ryan's arm.

"But, I..phone call..didn't happen," Ryan stammered, looking back at the doors. Chris gave Ryan an apologetic look.

"I know it sucks man but we're in danger! A dangerous prisoner has escaped and we need to go to the living quarters for a few hours while they try to find him and contain him," Chris explained. Ryan swallowed and looked again at the doors, now slowly closing. He bit his lower lip. He had to make a decision.

"Okay," he said giving up and allowing Chris to lead him to their common workers quarters, Ryan hearing the heaving metal doors of the hangar sealing behind him, his one chance for escape gone.

For now.


	18. A Friendly Face

Ryan paced the living space trying to think of a plan. His head was swirling from everything that had been going on. He looked around the room, trying to figure out if he could escape without anyone noticing. The room was large and was lined with bunk beds, very similar to those basic training rooms you see in military movies, only on a much larger scale. He was at a set of bunks with Chris and Ashley, the two casually talking as if lockdown was a normal part of life. Ryan thought desperately for a way out without causing a scene or any attention to be drawn to him, potentially blowing his cover.

"You okay there Ryan?" Ashley asked. Ryan looked at her and shook his head.

"I'm..uh..I'm not all that great in confined spaces," he lied. Chris raised an amused eyebrow.

"Kind of a funny place to work for someone with that issue," he said.

  
"Bite me," Ryan shrugged and paced some more, an idea forming in his mind as he began to wring his hands.

"I could really use something to calm my nerves. I usually use muscle relaxers but I forgot to refill mine," he said. Chris and Ashley exchanged worried glances and stood.

"This is serious isn't it?" Ashley asked gently. Ryan began breathing harder and nodded. Ashley looked at Chris and the two nodded.

"Okay, I think since this in an emergency they'll let us rush you over to the medical bay. We can pick you up some meds there and then see if you'll be okay. Sound good?" Chris asked. Ryan looked relieved and nodded as he started shaking. The two rushed him to the door and explained the situation to the guard who nodded and let them pass, ordering them to be careful and shoot on sight if they encountered the intruder. The trio rushed to the infirmary where Ryan sat atop one of the hospital beds while they explained what they needed to the nurse on duty. She nodded and fetched Ryan two tablets and a glass of water. He shoved the pills into his mouth and gulped down the water.

"You gonna be okay now?" Chris asked, genuinely concerned. Ryan smiled and nodded thankfully. A small part of him regretted lying to the two but he needed to be free from all those eyes.

"Can I just stay here and rest for a bit? I don't really want to have another panic attack again," he asked. Ashley nodded and the two left him alone, heading back to their quarters. The nurse allowed him to lay down on the bed. When her back was to him he spat the pills out and threw them into the trash can nearby. He asked where the closest bathroom was and the woman directed him to go down the hall three doors and then it was the first door on the left. He nodded his thanks and then made his way in that direction, stopping at the bathroom doors before continuing down the hall. He needed to find Jeremy and form some sort of plan.

~~~  
~~~

Geoff massaged his forehead after making the hundredth call that day. It had been a struggle, the whole process lasting several hours, and even with the video chat he'd set up halfway through, everything was still fucking stressful as dicks! But after several hours of talk and debate and some discoveries he hadn't been aware of previously, he'd finally managed to do something no other gang leader had ever done in Los Santos. He sighed with relief and marched to the kitchen to grab himself a refreshing bottle of rum. Mica and Andy were there on the couch, Andy playing halo reach and Mica on her computer typing away furiously doing some sort of work on discovering more about their new friends. Geoff smiled, Mica had been the newest recruit to B-Team and he loved the fire and passion she had for her job, though sometimes he wished she could relax once in awhile and chill, the young woman always serious and ready to do what needed to be done in order to complete a mission. He knew firsthand that that life would quickly wear one down until they were nothing but an empty shell. Thank God he'd had his Crew!

Jack was at the counter drinking a glass of water. He hadn't received a concussion from the blow to his head somehow and seemed perfectly fine after a few hours of icing the sore area. The bearded man raised an eyebrow at Geoff as he approached.

"Did it work?" he asked. Jack and Lindsay were the only other two members of the Crew who knew about the plan. Geoff smiled tiredly and nodded.

"We're in business! Now I need a drink after dealing with all those morons," he said smiling. The two friends laughed and toasted the achievement, ushering in a new day for the FAHC.

"Did Lindsay go and visit Michael?" Geoff asked before taking a swig of his drink. Jack nodded.

"She left about an hour ago. Poor girl was exhausted, even after that three hour nap she took," he said.

"Can you blame her? It's been a shitty stress-filled couple of days. She's been a trooper Jack, through all this. I think I've made the right choice," he said. Jack nodded.

"What time are the Inquisitors supposed to call with our instructions?" he asked, his tone growing serious.

"Here in just a few. Jack I'm worried, Jeremy hasn't checked in and Trevor and Matt haven't heard anything from him in a couple hours. All I know is that they heard an alarm and then the base went into lockdown mode," he said looking worriedly at Jack. Jack smiled sadly. If there was one thing he loved about Geoff, it was his undying love and loyalty to his Crew, his boys, his family.

"Jeremy's a smart kid, he'll be okay. He'll find our men and bring them back," he said reassuringly and pat Geoff on the shoulder. The two shared a smile. The phone rang and everything in the penthouse went dead silent, Andy pausing his game and Mica freezing at her computer. Geoff looked at Jack, a scared look on his face and let the phone ring one more time before picking it up.

"What?" he snapped, sounding more annoyed than scared which was a good thing for him, was more along the lines of what they'd expect.

"Well well well, if it isn't Ramsey himself. What happened to your little secretary? I was kind of growing fond of him," a voice teased on the other end. Geoff rolled his eyes.

"Oh you know secretaries, can't keep em around long before they start sleeping with the boss. Very unprofessional. Had to let him go," Geoff played along while Mica started a trace on the call and held up four fingers to indicate how long until the trace was complete. Geoff nodded.

"Too bad. Well, anyway, I guess we should move this business along," the voice said. Geoff agreed.

"We have your men, Vagabond and Brownman. And if you wish to get them back in good health I suggest you pay close attention," the voice said.

"I'm listening," Geoff growled.

"First, we want your Crew out. Gone. Forever. Leave Los Santos, we can take over from here. Much as we'd prefer to see you all in body bags, we can be reasonable about this," the voice said. Geoff had to physically clench his fists in order to ward off any outbursts.

_Was is reasonable when you kidnapped two of my men?!_ he screamed in his head.

"Second, I think you've looted a good chunk of the city's treasury by now, so I want half. You can keep the rest to help you with your new lives," the voice was sounding cheerful and happy which made Geoff want to punch something.

"That all?" he asked, sounding bored.

"One last thing, we want you!" the voice said triumphantly. Geoff was surprised.

"Um, in what way? Cause I don't really swing that way champ," he said. Jack suppressed a giggle.

"Oh no nothing like that. We need to set an example to this city and the other gangs, and in order to get our message across, we need a loud enough voice. Something that will gain their attention," he said. Geoff didn't like the sound of that.

"You need a sacrifice," he said bluntly.

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds so...old fashioned, but yes. Your death will serve as a message to the rest that we mean business and aren't playing around. With the death of the leader of the most feared Crew in all the state, we will be unstoppable," the voice said, Geoff almost expecting an evil laugh to follow the statement.

"This is a lot to think about," he said, stalling as Mica held up one finger to indicate the trace was almost done. Geoff bit his lip, he needed more time.

"You have 24 hours. We're really being generous with you here, so I would suggest you think long, and hard about this Ramsey. Wouldn't want your boys here to worry if their loving boss really cares about them and their well-being. That you'd abandoned them to the people who bested their Crew," the voice said. Geoff was fuming but contained his anger, instead he glanced at Mica who shook her head.

"Alright, twenty-four hours and I'll have your answer. But let me tell you this, I have a few demands of my own," he said. The room fell silent again.

"You amuse me Ramsey, but go ahead," the voice chuckled a moment later.

"I want proof of life in the next three hours. I want my men dropped off at a location that only I know of and will reveal to my people the moment you have me," Geoff said. Jack looked like he was about to protest but Geoff silenced him with a look and held up a finger to show he wasn't done.

"And I want you to promise that nothing will happen to my men. I don't pay for damaged goods. You break it, you bought it. And should anything happen to them or one of them dies while in your care, the deal is off and I will personally hunt down each and every one of you motherfuckers and show you just why I'm the most feared crime boss in the state! Understood?" he said. There was silence on the other end of the phone and Geoff glanced at Mica who mouthed that there was twenty seconds remaining.

"Alright Ramsey, I'll play your little game. You'll get your proof of life in the next three hours. I look forward to your decision," the voice said. Mica gave the thumbs up and attacked her laptop furiously.

"The feelings mutual asshole," Geoff said and hung up. He wanted so badly to kill something, to yell and punch, kick and scream. Who did this little punk ass bitch think he was, coming into HIS city, attacking HIS home, abducting HIS men and friends, and then having the balls to threaten him and make demands?

"You okay Geoff?" Jack asked. Geoff shook his head.

"I'll be okay when our boys are safely home, and every last one of these sons of bitches is rotting in an alley!" he said and took another swig before walking over to Mica and watching her work over her shoulder.

"How long?" he asked.

"I established the link in time, but it's still going to take awhile to find the exact location of the call. I'd say an hour tops," she said.

"Make it 45 minutes, we're running out of time here. Keep me posted and tell me as soon as you're done," he said. Mica nodded and attacked her work with a new vigor. Geoff turned back to the meeting room.

"What're you going to do Geoff?" Jack asked.

"Me? I'm going to make a phone call or two, and think some things through. It's time we take back what's ours, show these asshats who really runs this city. Time to get our boys back," Geoff said and closed the door behind him, knowing the next few minutes were going to be crucial.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan made his way to where he thought he remembered the hangar was, hoping he could find something useful there he could use to aid in his escape. Unfortunately he was horribly lost again, getting turned around despite the careful observations he'd made when Ashley and Chris had been showing him around. Now he didn't know where he was and knew he could be caught at any minute. He needed to find Jeremy. He could help, and he knew more about the situation from an outside perspective than Ryan did. He also needed to know if the Crew was safe. He rounded a corner and dove back, narrowly avoiding being seen by a gang member walking into a room that looked like a cabin.

_Wait, cabin? Didn't Chris or Ashley say that the upper level gang members lived in these quarters?_ Ryan thought. His mind raced. It was a slim chance, and an even slimmer chance that he'd find the right door. But he had to try. He watched the hall intently for several minutes hoping he'd find some sign of Jeremy, while at the same time watching for signs of other gang members.

_Where are you Dooley?_ he wondered. He froze when he saw the gang member that had been walking with Jeremy earlier appeared and walked up to one of the rooms, knocking and waiting for a response. The door slid open and Ryan's breath caught in his throat.

It was Jeremy!

Ryan was elated! Now he just had to wait for the gang member to leave so he could approach Jeremy. His inner thoughts began resurfacing and he heard a familiar voice in his head.

_Just kill him! One less person to worry about. You can make it quick and silent. Go on, do it!_

Ryan shook his head and allowed the logical part of his mind take over, the more tactful and strategic.

_Killing him will just cause more problems. He'll be missed by his superiors, and people will come looking for him. Bad idea. Going stealth mode is smarter. Just wait, be patient. Like a predator stalking its prey._ he thought. Finally after several minutes the man left and Jeremy shut his door. Ryan waited a few more minutes to make sure no one would entry the hall before stalking up to the door and gently knocking. At first there wasn't a response but then he saw the door begin to open.

Ryan quickly pushed his way in and shut the door behind him, quickly covering Jeremy's mouth which was about to release a cry of surprise with his hand and signaling the man to remain quiet. He waited for a moment and then sighed, removing his hand and smiling at Jeremy.

"You miss me?" he asked. Jeremy smiled and laughed, pulling Ryan into the biggest bear hug he could give.

"I thought you were gone! I was so worried when Geoff got the phone call. I've been worried sick! Then when I saw you like this, here, I didn't know what to think and..." Jeremy looked up at Ryan and felt tears forming in his eyes. Ryan smiled and pulled Jeremy back into a hug, giving him an extra squeeze. "It's nice to see a friendly face!"

"I'm sorry I left you alone. I was worried about you this whole time, knowing that you needed me and that I wasn't there killed me inside," Ryan said. Jeremy smiled.

"Well, now we look like a sappy old married couple," he joked and the two shared a laugh.

"How's Geoff? Is the Crew okay?" Ryan asked looking intently at Jeremy. The lad smiled and nodded.

"Everyone's safe. Michael had some minor wounds that Gavin's treating and Jack got a bump on the head but is doing fine. Geoff has been stressing the fuck out about you and Ray! He's doing everything he can think of to get you two back," Jeremy said. Ryan stiffened and Jeremy grew concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Ryan shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, not sure how he was going to break the news. He paced the room while he tried to form the words, Jeremy waiting patiently for his response.

"Ray's been...compromised. He betrayed us Jeremy," he finally said, his voice a weak whisper. Jeremy grew deathly pale and sat down on his bed, putting his head in his hands.

"No! That can't be! He was just here no less than a few minutes ago. He wouldn't do such a thing!" he said trying to make sense of this new information. Ryan shook his head and began feeling sick.

"Jeremy, it's true. He told me himself. He didn't want or plan for it to happen the way it did, and certainly didn't want anyone hurt. That much I know is true," he said. Jeremy was filled with anger. His feeling of unease when Ray had been interrogating him made sense now.

"How could he do such a fucked up thing?! How could he betray the Crew? Betray his friends, his fucking family?!" he demanded. Ryan sighed and sat down, hands folded in front of his face as he tried to think of what to say next.

"Jeremy, Ray's been through a lot. He's struggling with more than you can imagine. I'm not trying to justify what he did, but you've got to understand, he's desperate for an out. And honestly I don't blame him after what happened," Ryan said quietly, the memories of the past swirling in his mind.

"What did happen? What's this big dark secret everyone keeps hinting at but won't talk about?" he demanded, looking at his friend hoping desperately for answers, wanting to understand and give Ray the benefit of the doubt. Ryan sat there for a second in silence, the pain from that day welling up in him.

"Ryan, please. I want to understand," Jeremy said softly. Ryan finally looked up at Jeremy and the lad was shocked to see his crystal blue filling with tears.

"It was a stupid mistake. It never should've happened. And it's all my fault!" he said, his voice shaky. Jeremy stared at Ryan but nodded for the man to continue. Ryan took a deep breath and prepared to relive the pain all over again.

"Okay, it started out as a normal job..."


	19. Truths Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: some stuff in this chapter gets a little dark with Ray's backstory.

Ray approached the command center and hesitated, hand over the doorknob. He'd always been suspicious of Dax and never fully trusted the man, Ray knowing snakes he'd trust more than the man. He was pure evil, and owned it better than anyone Ray had ever met. That the man had a secret agenda shouldn't have come as such a surprise to Ray as it did.

_Figures that the one person I turn to for help ends up fucking me in the ass!_ he thought as he pushed open the door and stormed into the room. There was a surprising lack of workers and gang members in the room, Ray assuming that most of them evacuating to their quarters while security searched for Ryan. Ray smiled, he wasn't at all surprised that Ryan had escaped and was now running loose in the facility. He'd actually been hoping for something like this to happen, the sudden appearance of Jeremy, though shocking and slightly unnerving, couldn't have been more perfectly timed if he'd tried. He wondered where everyone was, knowing that not everyone would be under lockdown. Shrugging he made his way to the main office and after pausing at the door to make sure no one was there, and with a little help from his friend Mr. Lock pick, he was soon in the room.

He wasn't sure what he was looking for, just that he needed to find something that gave him some leads or answers. Finding nothing he frowned and turned to leave. As he did though, he heard the far door where he'd first come in the command center being opened and acted fast. Quickly closing and locking the office door Ray dove behind a work consul, staying out of sight as the door opened. He heard Dax's voice as the man walked to his office.

_Go figure the big bad wolf is the only one with cell reception!_ Ray thought as he watched the man walk to his office and unlock the door.

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds so...old fashioned, but yes. Your death will serve as a message to the rest that we mean business and aren't playing around. With the death of the leader of the most feared Crew in all the state, we will be unstoppable," he heard Dax say. Ray perked up his ears at that, the conversation suddenly becoming very interesting to him. Dax went into his office and shut the door, Ray taking this opportunity to sneak up to the door and press an ear to it, trying to catch more of the conversation.

"You have 24 hours. We're really being generous with you here, so I would suggest you think long, and hard about this Ramsey. Wouldn't want your boys here to worry if their loving boss really cares about them and their well-being. That you'd abandoned them to the people who bested their Crew," Dax said.

_So it is Geoff he's talking too. Jeremy was right, this must be the ransom call he told me they were expecting!_ Ray thought and he grew uneasy. The way Dax was talking sounded like he was implying something bad was in store for him and Ryan, Ray not liking the idea at all.

"You amuse me Ramsey, but go ahead," he heard.

What was Dax up to? Ray's deal with him had been simple, yet everything seemed to change, first he kidnapped Ryan, then he put Ray in charge of roughing him up and making him cooperate and even dispose of him should he act up, and now this? He was quickly regretting his decisions to rely on Dax as his means to leave the FAHC.

"Alright Ramsey, I'll play your little game. You'll get your proof of life in the next three hours. I look forward to your decision," Dax said.

_Uh oh!_ Ray thought. Things were about to get interesting for him and Ryan. He suspected that Ryan would be fine, he'd managed to evade the patrols this long somehow and Ray was confident in the man's ability to blend in. Now he just needed to come up with a way to stay out of Dax's grasp for a bit without tipping his hand or fucking anything up. He wasn't sure how Dax was going to pull off getting a proof of life of him and Ryan, what with Ryan playing hide-and-go hostage and Dax knowing Ray would never agree to any of this.

It was clear to him now though, and with what little information he'd gathered from Jeremy as confirmation, that the Crew was somehow planning on mounting a rescue mission. But with Michael down, Jack hurt, and he and Ryan here along with Jeremy, they were going to need more manpower, even with the help from B-Team.

_What're you up to Geoffrey?_ he thought to himself. He heard Dax hang up and dove behind the consul again as the man walked out of his office, holding the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, what's your status on the Vagabond? Well double your efforts to find him, you've got one hour. Hmm? What about Narvaez?" Dax asked. Ray noticed that the man smiled evilly at whatever reply he got. "He'll do whatever we tell him to do, he wouldn't want us leaking the terrible truth to Ramsey that he was the one solely responsible for the betrayal of his Crew! And whenever you get your asses in gear and find the Vagabond, he'll do anything to keep his friend safe. I told you from the beginning, taking the Vagabond hostage was a bargaining chip," he said. Ray swallowed hard, this wasn't good! Dax was almost to the other side of the room and through the door when Ray heard his next words, words that froze his blood.

"Haha, don't worry, as soon as they're no longer needed we'll get rid of them, starting with the savage. Ramsey and his band of blind followers will walk right into our trap and we will finally do what no one in the history of Los Santos, gang or cop, has ever done. We will kill the FAHC, once and for all!" Dax's laughter echoing through the room and into the hall he stepped into as he closed the door behind him. Ray felt weak and sick. Things just went from bad, to total shit storm.

~~~  
~~~

"It was supposed to be an easy in and out job. We'd been asked by a high paying client to get rid of one of the fat cats here in the city who was getting a little too close to some of the clients personal business. Ray and I were the main strike team, Geoff running surveillance outside in the getaway van that Jack was driving. Gavin and Michael were in charge of keeping any first responding cops off our asses and to give us some cover after the job was done. It was early evening, a few hours after the typical dinner hour. Ray and I snuck into the top floor of the man's house and made our way to the man's bedroom. He was sitting on the bed, back to us and seemed nervous, almost anxious," Ryan explained, speaking slowly, pain in his voice. Jeremy listened patiently, knowing that this was hard for Ryan to speak about.

_Whatever happened that night, must've been pretty bad if Ryan was affected this deeply, given his Vagabond reputation._ Jeremy thought. Ryan sighed and continued.

"To be fair, we should've been more informed on the situation before we went in. I pointed my gun at the man as Ray said his name. The man stood and became pale, that look on his face one that I've grown to enjoy seeing on my victims. The look of understanding that they are about to die. Ray had grinned and was about to say something when the door to the bathroom opened and a woman stepped out. She seemed happy and was saying something about great news before she looked up and saw us. Before she could scream Ray turned and shot her, twice in the abdomen and once in the head. The man yelled and ran to her, but before he reached her I shot him in the head. I was just turning to Ray to say good job when I saw him staring at something on the floor by the woman. He was ghostly white and looked like he was going to throw up," Ryan said. He squeezed his eyes shut and trembled, his hands clammy. Jeremy put an arm around his shoulders and rocked him gently. When Ryan looked up there were tears in his eyes.

"It was a pregnancy test Jeremy! It was positive," he choked out. Jeremy gasped and hugged Ryan as the man broke down. He never thought he'd see the feared criminal known for his savagery bat an eye at the loss of life, but seeing him like this, Jeremy knew that deep down Ryan still valued human life to some extent.

"Oh Ry! You didn't know, there was no way you could've known!" he said trying to comfort his friend as best he could. Ryan shook his head.

"There were so many different ways we could've done it Jeremy. A car bomb, poison dart, sniped him as he walked into his office building. But no, I insisted that we kill him at his home, anticipating the thrill of killing a man on his own turf, in his bed. Like it would make me stronger or some fucked up shit like that. Now a kid is dead because of me, before it could even breathe," Ryan cried. Jeremy rocked him, hugging him tighter as the man cried. After a few minutes Ryan calmed down enough to finish his story.

"Ray was shaken up by it to be sure and was never the same after that night. He hated going on heists and killing, even when it was in self defense or to save one of us. I tried my best to be there and help him by listening to him and talking to him. I think the reason he shut down to the rest of the Crew and opened up to me is because I was there with him when it happened. I know how he felt and what happened, while the others only have the story of what happened," Ryan said. Jeremy nodded, thinking about that meal he'd shared with the Crew and how Ray hadn't spoken much, but rather had his wordless conversation with Ryan.

"I'm so sorry Ryan," was all Jeremy could say. Ryan nodded and took a deep breath before releasing it in a sigh.

"This is why Ray betrayed us. He wanted to get out of the Crew so desperately that he'd go to such extremes. He was genuine when he told me that my being here, the attack on the penthouse, and the possible deaths of our Crew weren't part of his plan. He never wanted any of this to happen. And I believe him Jeremy," Ryan said. Jeremy nodded. He understood.

"But now we're all stuck here with no way to communicate with Geoff or B-Team to let them know all is well and we're ready for evac," he said.

"We need a plan," Ryan agreed and the two men set about thinking of possible ways to escape.

"The hangar doors won't open until you've been found and apprehended right?" Jeremy asked. Ryan nodded.

"Okay so we can't count on that as an exit. What about the command center? Surely there's something there that can help," Jeremy offered.

"I wouldn't know, the last time I was there I got tased," Ryan said. Jeremy thought hard, pacing around the room now. Ryan watched him, smiling at the concentrated look on the lad's face. Finally Jeremy stopped and snapped his fingers as an idea leapt into his mind.

"Okay, I've got an idea!" he said. Ryan looked relieved until Jeremy spoke again.

"You're not going to like it though. I'm going to the command center to scope the place out and hopefully find something useful. A satellite phone, a map or schematics of this God forsaken labyrinth, anything we could use," he said. Ryan stood and shook his head.

"No! It's too dangerous and you could get caught," he said. Jeremy feigned offense.

"Ryan! After all we've been through!" he said and winked. Ryan was still skeptical.

"This is the life I chose Ryan, and why I joined the Crew. It's time for me to show you guys just exactly what I'm capable of," he said and started walking towards the door.

"Jeremy wait!" Ryan said and grabbed the man's hand. Jeremy turned and looked first at Ryan's hand holding his and then up at his friend, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.

"Be careful okay? I don't want to lose another friend, especially one I care deeply about," Ryan said softly. Jeremy's face softened and he hugged Ryan.

"I'll be okay big guy. I promise I'll come back," he said. He pulled away and looked at Ryan with a smile.

"Give me one hour. Okay?" he said. Ryan nodded and as Jeremy opened the door a thought occurred to him.

"Hey what am I supposed to do?" he asked. Jeremy smiled.

"Sit tight and wait for me!" he said and then closed the door. Ryan was shocked. Did Jeremy just tell him to wait? He chuckled. The kid sure had some balls.

~~~

Jeremy crept down the halls walking as quickly and quietly as he could. He was banking on most of the facility's staff and gang members to be housed up in their living quarters and not wondering the halls. Minus the security patrols anyway. Somehow he managed to find his way to the command center and gently opened the door. There was no one inside! Walking in Jeremy scanned the room for where to start looking, settling for a nearby work station. Looking around it he couldn't find any schematics of the base or any sort of phone.

_Fucking whore!_ he thought and then moved on to the next station. Same story. After checking several of the stations he turned his eyes onto an office set at the back and center of the room. Making his way there he listened at the door to see if he could hear anyone on the other side. Luckily the room was silent. Trying the door he found it locked. Rolling his eyes he pulled out his lock pick set he always carried with him and soon he heard the click of the lock and the door now opened when he tried it. Darting inside and closing the door behind him he searched around for anything helpful. Papers littered the floor and desk but none looked like they'd be helpful to Jeremy in that moment, most being bills for explosives and receipts for ammunition and weapons. He did find a landline phone but the line was dead when he picked up the receiver.

_Dammit!_ he thought to himself. That's when the computer caught his eye. Quickly sitting down he turned on the machine hoping the Internet still worked. The computer asked him for a password for the login and Jeremy bit his lip.

_Shit! This would be so much easier with my computer._ he thought as he popped his fingers and went to work hacking into the system. He almost cheered when he was allowed access and looked around on the desktop for anything that could help them escape. Before he found anything a thought entered his mind.

Quickly opening up the web browser he logged into his email account and then typed out a message. Placing his curser over the "To" option he quickly typed out Geoff's cell phone number and hit send. Holding his breath he released it with a sigh when he saw that the message had sent without any problems.

He then set about looking through the files on the computer until he found what he was looking for. A 3D diagram of Mount Chilliad with a small depiction of the overall plan. Jeremy gasped!

_He's insane! No one would ever try such an outrageous thing!_ he thought. Yet there it was in front of him, clear as day. Jeremy massaged his forehead as he tried to come up with a solution. With Ryan's help they could possibly sabotage the whole operation. He quickly sent the diagram and some of the information attached in another email to Geoff, hoping that he could do something with it. He shut down the computer and erased his trail before doing one last sweep of the room. He checked his phone but his service was dead.

Just as he turned to the door he heard voices outside and froze. He was fucked! Darting over he locked the door like it had been prior and searched for a place to hide and opted for a metal locker in the corner which he stuffed himself in just before the door opened. Hardly breathing Jeremy watched as the man named Dax entered the room with two large intimidating men.

"Your time is running out to find them!" he said coldly as he sat down. Jeremy listened intently.

"We're doing everything we can boss. Don't worry, we'll find them," one of the men said.

"Great! We have the deadliest psycho killer in the state running around possibly foiling the plan and now we can't find Narvaez? Remind me again how much I pay you simpletons?" Dax growled. The two men remained silent.

"In order for Ramsey to take the bait we need this proof of life he's wanting and in order to accomplish this we need the two men that are supposed to be our hostages!" Dax roared. Jeremy perked up at the sound of Geoff's name. He wasn't sure if Ray was aware of all this but he needed to warn the man anyway, they were all in danger now. They needed to get out now! All of them. He peeked through the vents of the locker and saw Dax looking at his computer with a confused look.

_Uh-oh! Did I miss something?_ Jeremy thought and his heart started racing, his hands growing sweaty.

"Boys, explain to me why I have an e-vite to Dave's birthday party?" he asked looking up. The men looked confused.

"Who the fuck is Dave?" Dax demanded.

"I think he's one of the older recruits that showed up a few months ago," one of the men said. Jeremy silently sighed with relief and rolled his eyes.

"I don't care if he's the damn queen of England! Make sure this chainmail spam bullshit doesn't happen again!" Dax yelled and threw a book at the men who dodged it. Jeremy's heart froze as he saw the book flying towards the locker he was at. It collided with a loud bang. Jeremy covered his mouth to prevent the cry of surprise that threatened to escape his lips. He noticed the door to the locker was slightly open.

_Oh fuck!_ he thought and hoped the people in the office couldn't see him. Dax looked at his phone and sighed as he stood. He walked out the door with the men following close behind.

"Find me the Vagabond and we'll get Narvaez! Do not fail me!" he growled. The two men nodded and then the door closed. Jeremy let out a sigh of relief and calmed his nerves. He waited for several minutes before slowly opening the metal door and sneaking to the office door. Quietly opening it Jeremy was about to dash out into the command room when he was faced with one of Dax's large men. Jeremy let out a cry of surprise as the man grabbed him by the front of the shirt and roughly hauled him out of the doorway, swinging Jeremy out and releasing him, sending the much smaller man flying into the air. And into the waiting arms of the other big man who caught him and gripped him in an inescapable bear hug, pinning his arms to his side and easily holding him off the floor. Jeremy's back was to the man so he could see when Dax walked up to him and stood in front of him, glaring daggers.

"Well if it isn't our little resident undercover spy Rimmy Tim, if that is indeed your name," he said, his voice low and deadly. Jeremy swallowed.

_Sorry Ryan, I don't think I'm going to be able to keep that promise buddy._ he thought.


	20. He's Family!

Geoff was surprised when his phone vibrated less than an hour and a half after his phone call with the Inquisitors. He hadn't been expecting them to respond so soon and he looked at his phone, preparing himself for the worst. A smile creeped onto his face and his let out a small cry of joy, tears coming to his eyes at the message that appeared on his screen.

**Hey boss, sorry lost contact. Their base inside Mount Chilliad is under lockdown. I've found Vagabond and Brownman but we don't have any way to communicate with you or B-Team outside. The leader's name is Dax. Hurry, time is running out!  
-JDoolz, the Rimmiest of Tims**

Geoff laughed and felt relief flood through him. His boys were safe, for now, and Jeremy had managed to somehow find a way to communicate with them.

_The inside Mount Chilliad is going to be hard as dicks to get them out of!_ he thought, his mind racing as he tried to form a plan. Everything was almost ready, the assault only a phone call away. He needed to relay this new information to the others and see what Lindsay had planned. There was a knock at his door and when he gave permission to enter Jack walked in.

"Mica is ready with the phone trace," he said softly. Geoff ran to him and embraced the larger man, Jack being taken by surprise confusedly returned the hug. Geoff couldn't help how happy he felt that his men were still alive and relatively safe.

"I just got a message from Jeremy! They're safe but are trapped inside Chilliad," he said. Jack let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and felt tears well up in his own eyes. Their friends were okay and they'd be home soon.

"Finally! Some good news!" he said. Geoff parted from him and nodded as the two walked out to Mica who'd now relocated to the kitchen counter, standing in front of her laptop with a victorious smile.

"We've got them!" she said. She showed Geoff the screen and the gps coordinates from the caller's phone met his eyes. Mica explained that she'd originally thought that the call came from the entrance to the hangar where Jeremy had entered, but she'd been way off the ball. The coordinates actually came from a little lower on the mountain near the base where an old abandoned mine was located, the intended project long since forgotten and left to time and nature to claim.

"This means there's another way to get inside the mountain!" Geoff said excitedly.

"And more importantly, another way to get out of the mountain!" Mica said, a smile on her face.

"Mica you're a fucking Saint!" Geoff said happily and pulled out his phone to call Lindsay, jumping slightly when it went off again. It was another message from Jeremy. He opened the attachment and scanned it, confused at first and then his eyes went wide.

"Oh shit!" he breathed softly, dread filling him.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked and walked around behind Geoff to look at what his friend was seeing. Geoff looked up, face pale and eyes large.

"They're planning on blowing up the mountain," he said. The others stared at him in disbelief and Geoff immediately sprang into action, sending the message to Mica to pull up on her computer so they could all see, Andy walking over when he heard the seriousness in Geoff's voice. The group gazed at the 3D schematics, their eyes growing larger.

"Geoff, if they go through with this..." Jack said softly.

"That's not going to happen! This is my fucking city and I'll be damned before I let these fucktards take it from me!" Geoff said his voice angry as he pulled out his phone and punched in Lindsay's number.

"What do we do Geoff?" Andy asked.

"We're going to let them think they're in control, play their little game. Meanwhile we'll have them right where we want them! Mica relay this information of the second entrance to Trevor and Matt. Andy, I just found out their leader's name is Dax, see what you can find on him. Jack, get the cargo-bob ready and get ahold of Sorola, " Geoff said and walked into the other room to talk to Lindsay.

"What do you have for me Linds?" he asked after filling her in.

"I can have the others ready to go in less than two hours. Based off our intel there don't seem to be any guards at the mine entrance so we can send a team in through there while another blows open a second entrance at a weak spot that Trevor and Matt found," Lindsay said. She sounded just as mad as Geoff felt. Geoff nodded.

"Let's get the ball rolling! We can't leave our boys in there any longer. It's time to bring them home!" he said. Lindsay agreed and the two hung up. Geoff stood there for a moment, thinking about what he needed to do. He knew it wasn't going to pleasant for him and the outcome could end disastrously, but he was prepared to do what he needed to in order to protect his family.

"Geoff?"

Geoff turned and saw Jack standing in the doorway looking at him. He smiled at his friend and sighed.

"It's happening Jack. Who knew that the abduction of our men would lead us to this historic moment?" he said. Jack frowned.

"That's not what I'm worried about. If we go through with this, you could die," he said softly. Geoff shook his head sadly.

"I know but I don't plan on dying just yet. But if it comes to that, I'm prepared to lay down my life to keep my family safe!" he said. Jack shook his head again and looked like he would cry.

"Geoff, you can't! We need you!" he said, voice cracking. Geoff smiled and put a hand comfortingly on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, do you trust me?" he asked. Jack nodded.

"With my life!" he said.

"Then trust that I know what I'm doing. Everything will work out,"

Jack have him a skeptical look but nodded, Geoff wondering if everything would work out.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy hadn't returned in the time he said he would and Ryan grew anxious. Something had gone wrong, he just knew it. Pacing the room Ryan wondered if he should go after the lad.

_Give him time Haywood, let him do his thing. If he's going to be part of the Crew you've gotta learn to trust him._ he told himself. He trusted Jeremy, yes, but that didn't make him any less worried for his friend. Thoughts of the worst scenarios filled his mind. What if he'd been captured? What if he'd been killed? Ryan shook his head and tried not to think about it too much, but the more and more he tried not to think about it the more he did. He continued to pace for several more minutes before he decided to go after Jeremy. It had been too long and if Jeremy needed his help he was only delaying his rescue. Turning towards the door he sighed with relief when he saw it start to open. Jeremy must've been held up somehow or had gotten lost.

"Jeremy where've you b..." he started to say and froze when he saw that it wasn't Jeremy who'd walked into the room.

It was Ray.

Ryan hissed and readied himself for a fight as Ray shut the door quickly. He noticed the man looked pale and was breathing hard as he put a finger to his lips and listened at the door. After a moment the lad relaxed visibly and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was way too fucking close dude! Running sucks ass!" he said and smiled at Ryan. His smile melted when he saw the rage in Ryan's eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he growled. Ray looked hurt and then looked surprised at Ryan's appearance.

"I..uh..y..you look..good!" he said cautiously. Ryan narrowed his eyes and then sighed, shaking his head.

"Thanks. I'm not used to the whole, "looking normal" thing," he said flatly. Ray nodded and shuffled awkwardly for a moment before Ryan crossed his arms and frowned at him.

"You didn't answer my question Ray. What are you doing here?" he asked, a little more gently this time.

"You're in danger! You and Jeremy," Ray blurted out urgently. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"No shit Sherlock! We're stuck inside a fucking mountain with an army of assholes. Which, by the way, I still blame you for!" he said. Ray shook his head and took a step towards Ryan. Instinctively Ryan took a step back. Ray looked hurt but continued.

"No, there's something else. I just discovered that Dax is planning on using us as a trap to lure the Crew to us. He's supposed to send Geoff our proofs of life here in about an hour. I overheard him on the phone with Geoff, after he hung up he said that he was going to dispose of us. Starting with you, and then he plans on killing the rest of the Crew!" he said. Ryan frowned and began pacing as he thought, stroking his small trimmed beard as he did.

"If what you're saying is true, then they'll have doubled the patrols looking for us. Which means that the halls will be filled with them," he said out loud.

"Not very easy to look around for an escape," Ray observed. Ryan looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"You need to pick a side Ray. Because playing both isn't going to work. Either you're with me and the Crew, your friends, or you're with the men who are planning to kill us. Your choice," he said. Ray looked like he was fighting an internal battle.

"I've always been on your side Ry. R&R Connection remember?" he asked, trying to smile but finding it hard when he felt like curling up and dying. Ryan studied him for a moment and the nodded.

"Okay. After we get out of this shit I won't try to convince you to stay with the Crew. But you'll need to tell Geoff. And I mean tell him everything!" he said. Ray froze and became pale. Ryan nodded.

"I'm not going to fix this for you. You did all this and you're the one that needs to take responsibility. I'll support you, and I'll always be your friend, but this is something you need to do. Understood?" he asked. Ray looked down for a minute, thinking and trying not to have a panic attack. Finally he looked up and nodded. Ryan smiled and opened his arms. Ray, though startled at first by this sign of affection from Ryan soon ran into the older man's arms and hugged him. Ryan squeezed slightly and rocked the two gently as Ray began to cry.

_I'm getting good at this comforting thing!_ he thought.

"I'm sorry Ryan! God I'm so sorry!" Ray sobbed as he let out all his pain. Ryan nodded.

"I know. I know it's been rough for you. I'm sorry I haven't always been able to help or listen," he said. Ray parted from him and looked up into his sparkling blue eyes.

"It's not your fault. I've been a piece of shit, and you're right, I do need to trust the Crew more," he said. Ryan smiled and rocked his friend.

"Now, what say you that we think of a way to blow this popsicle stand?" he asked after a moment, Ray laughing.

"Ryan, please don't ever "blow" again in that context!" he said. Ryan cocked an eyebrow and shrugged as the two went about thinking of a plan of escape.

"Wait, where's Jeremy?" Ray asked suddenly, noticing the man was missing. Ryan tensed up, kicking himself for temporarily forgetting about the lad.

"Shit! He went to the command center to find a map or phone," he said nervously.

"How long ago was that?" Ray asked, feeling Ryan's apprehension.

"About and hour and a half ago," Ryan said and grew pale as he remembered Jeremy's words to him.

_Give me an hour...I promise I'll come back._

"Somethings wrong! He should've been back by now. He's in trouble Ray I know it!" Ryan said becoming panicked. Ray nodded and his facial features softened.

"Let's wait five more minutes, he may have gotten held up somehow," he said gently. Ryan hesitated, looking at the door and biting his lower lip before nodding. He sat down on the bed and fidgeted nervously. Ray watched him, smiling internally.

_He really likes Jeremy._ he thought.

"He'll be okay Ryan, I wouldn't be surprised if he walked through that door right now!" he said, trying to help, and pointed at the door. As he did two things happened. Ryan looked up hopefully at the door, and the door began to open. Ryan's eyes filled with joy and he leapt to his feet with a smile.

But it wasn't Jeremy who walked through the door.

_Fuck!_ Ray thought.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy grunted as he was shoved roughly into a chair, his arms pulled behind him and tied together with zipties.

_Fucking again?!_ he thought as he struggled against his bonds. Dax sat down in front of him, his two goons standing on either side of the crime lord.

"Now, what should we do with our little rat here?" he asked, looking over Jeremy. The young man swallowed and tried to fight back his oncoming panic attack, Dax's eyes reminding him of Lawrence.

_Keep it together Dooley! Don't lose your shit now!_ he told himself and he remembered Ryan slowly rocking him all those times to calm him. Somehow he'd get through this.

"What the hell boss? What's the deal?" he demanded. He needed to play this off. Dax raised an amused eyebrow at Jeremy and chuckled at him.

"Drop the act kid, we know you're a mole. Question is, who do you work for and why the fuck are you here?" he said. Jeremy struggled again and sighed.

"Look, I don't know what you're on about! I just got here and can't even find my way around, do you honestly believe that I am here to spy on you?" he asked. Dax smiled darkly, making Jeremy even more uncomfortable.

"Then explain why you were slinking around my office," Dax said crossing his arms. Jeremy's mind raced. He couldn't blow his cover just yet and he didn't want to oust Ray, but a plan slowly started forming in his mind.

"I was trying to find a bathroom, these halls are so confusing that I got lost and wondered around trying to find my way back or find someone. When I recognized the doors to the command center here I walked in hoping there'd be someone to help me. I walked in but couldn't find anyone. Just as I was about to turn to leave someone grabbed me and held a cloth over my nose and mouth then everything went black. I woke up stuffed into that locker in your office and saw that it was partially open and crawled out. I didn't know if whoever knocked me out was still here so I walked slowly and cautiously to the door when your goons here grabbed me," he explained. He poured all the sincerity he could muster into his voice and story, hoping it was enough to convince Dax he was clean.

The man narrowed his eyes at Jeremy and looked at him intently. Jeremy fidgeted uncomfortably under the gaze, not liking the eyes that searched him.

"Could you please untie me? It's not like I can go anywhere if I wanted to run," he asked. Dax shook his head.

"Until I decide whether or not you're telling the truth your ass is staying in that chair," he said. Jeremy felt anger boiling up in him.

"Come on man, I'm telling you the truth! I know I'm new and all but why would I want to fuck up such a great opportunity to help the cause?" he asked. Dax stared at him, a sly grin on his face.

"And what exactly do you think is this cause you speak of?" he asked, expression darkening. Jeremy swallowed.

"I assumed it was to rule the city and destroy anyone who stands in our way," he said slowly. Dax laughed and shook his head, patting Jeremy on the knee.

"Oh my little friend, that's just what they told you. No the real cause is far more simple than that," he said. Jeremy tried not sweat as the man stood over him with a wicked smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"There's much more to this operation than what it seems. Which I'm sure you discovered when you looked at my computer," Dax snarled. Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"This again? I told you I was knocked out. Did you stop to think that whoever the son of a bitch was who did that also might've been on your computer? That the reason I was shoved into a locker like some shitty high school prank is that I disrupted their plan?" he said angrily, glaring up at Dax. The man narrowed his eyes but looked like he was considering the question.

_You got him where you want him Dooley!_ Jeremy thought.

"Do you think, boss, that it's possible that you have a mole here that's trying to sabotage you?" he asked gently, like a comforting friend would ask. Dax bit his lower lip, his internal conflict written all over his face. Jeremy resisted the smile he felt coming, knowing he'd won. Finally Dax smiled, but it wasn't a good smile.

"Oh I believe we have a mole alright. But I don't think he's working alone. But don't worry, I have a plan to uproot him," he said. Jeremy felt goosebumps rise on his skin and his hair stand on end on his arms. A chill ran down his spine as Dax reached for a radio at his side.

"Prep the room. We're about to catch ourselves a spy," he said smiling dangerously at Jeremy.

_This isn't going the way I thought it would!_ he thought and struggled more as Dax's laughed echoed around the room. Jeremy felt one of the goons grab him from behind and hoist him above their shoulder and carried him out of the room.

"What the fuck are you doing? I work for you!" he yelled at the receding Dax.

"If you're not the mole then there's absolutely nothing to worry about. And you still work for me, you're helping me bring the mole to us!" Dax laughed maniacally.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan and Ray froze as Ashley and Chris walked into the room, looking bored and unsurprised that the two men were in the room. Quickly shitting the door they looked at Ryan and smiled.

"Long time no see friend!" Ashley said. Ryan and Ray exchanged nervous glances and then looked back at the two.

"Relax Narvaez, we're the good guys!" Chris said happily.

"Huh?" Ryan asked, not quite understanding. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"Ever hear of a gang called the Roosters Ryan?" she asked with a smile. Ryan stared for a minute before both he and Ray's eyes widened.

"I think they get it now," Chris said.

"But..but..how?" Ryan exclaimed.

"How do you know his name?" Ray asked pointing at Ryan.

"He told us. Guess the Vagabond's secret identity is blown," Ashley said. Ryan paled.

"You told them your name?!" Ray exclaimed.

"I didn't know they were fucking from the Roosters now did I?" Ryan fumed back.

"Relax Vaga, we ain't gonna squeal, we know a thing or two about keeping things secret," Chris said.

"Too bad too, that's one handsome face you've got there Ryan!" Ashley said smiling. Ryan blushed but shook his head.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"Long story short? We've been here as moles for a good six months now, Burnie and Matt sending us here when they suspected that these guys would soon become a threat. Turns out they were right. Well we got word today that you two had been brought here and that somehow the Roosters and Fakes are working together to get us all out of this joint," Ashley explained. Ray shook his head and laughed.

"Leave it to Geoff to get into bed with Burns and Hullum!" he said. Ryan nodded. The three men had been friends for ages, actually having a sort of gang alliance installed since the Fakes became a thing, though the two gangs occasionally had their squabbles. And now with their combined strength, they may be able to pull off a rescue.

Maybe.

"We're missing one of our men. He was sent in here for recon or as a rescue, I don't know. Point is he hasn't returned from his mission in the time he said he would. I think he's been captured," Ryan hastily explained. Chris and Ashley exchanged looks.

"What? What was that there?" Ray asked suspiciously. Without answering Ashley pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

"Gibson, Ellis, whatcha got on a third Fake here? Goes by.." she looked at Ryan and cocked an eyebrow.

"His name is Jeremy Dooley but I think he said he was going by Rimmy Tim while he was here as a cover identity," Ryan explained hastily. Everyone but Ryan giggled at that and Ashley repeated the name into the mic, receiving giggles from the other end.

"We haven't heard anything yet but we can look into it for ya miss Jenkins," came a deep voice. Ashley rolled her eyes.

"I swear Adam, call me Ms Jenkins again and you'll be eating through a straw for the next month!" she said.

"Sorry Ashley," came the voice again.

"Let me know as soon as you find anything. Over and out," she said and cut the transmission.

"How are you getting information out to your crew with all this interference?" Ray asked.

"We have special coms we modified to work in conditions such as these. Burnie thought it would be a good idea," Chris said. Ryan had been thinking this whole time.

"Do you think you could contact Geoff for us?" he asked as an idea slowly formed in his mind. It was crazy he knew, and he wasn't sure he was ready to pull this card from his hand, but when your hand is forced, you gotta lay down your cards.

"Sure! Here just a minute," Chris said and tapped a small hidden mic in his ear.

"Get me Burns, it's urgent. This is field agent Demarais," he said and waited for a minute.

"You guys are lucky to have an awesome boss like Geoff. He's a good man," Ashley said comfortingly.

"I know," Ray smiled. Chris came back and handed the mic to Ryan and showed him how to use it.

"Hello?" he said.

"Vagabond! Holy dicks you're alive! After Jeremy's message I wasn't sure if you guys were okay or not!" came Geoff's anxious and relieved voice.

"Geoff slow down. Ray and I are fine, we actually just met up with some of Burns and Hullum's crew down here. What about Jeremy?" he asked.

"Thank Christ you're okay! I received two emails from Dooley an hour or two ago. The first was to say that you guys were on lockdown still. The second..." Geoff hesitated.

"What Geoff? What did it say? Is Jeremy alright?" Ryan asked nervously, a sick feeling growing deep within him. He paused and the others watched as he went pale and gasped.

"That's impossible! How could they do that? Geoff, a lot of people could die!" he said urgently. The others exchanged worried glances. Ryan looked up at them eyes wide with dread.

"Understood. We'll make our way there and try to meet you guys. But Geoff, Jeremy's missing! We don't know where he is and he hasn't reported back in," he said. He closed his eyes and sighed, sounding defeated.

"Okay boss, see you," he said and handed the com back to Chris, hanging his head. After Chris terminated the call they looked at Ryan expectantly, the man having sat down hard on the bed.

"Well?" asked Ray.

"I guess there's a big operation going down. Geoff said that there's a side entrance to this place we can escape out of that they'd meet us at or come get us through," Ryan said.

"That's great! So why do you seem so...morbid? Even more than usual," Ray asked. Ryan shook his head.

"The Inquisitors have packed this entire mountain with explosives. They plan on blowing the place up!" he said. The others gasped.

"That's crazy! In order to blow up a mountain like this they'd need a..." Ashley started.

"A really, REALLY big boom!" Ryan finished. The group stood there as this realization dawned on them.

"All of Los Santos could be destroyed in an explosion that big!" Chris said softly, voicing all of their thoughts.

"We need to get the fuck out of here!" Ray said. The others agreed and then looked to see Ryan shaking his head.

"I can't," he said.

"Why not?" Ashley asked. Ryan looked up at his friends and allies, his face grim and determined.

"I'm not leaving without Jeremy," he said and stood. Just then the group heard a loud buzzing noise coming from a consul near the door. They rushed to it and the monitor leapt to life, showing a dank room that looked straight of of a horror movie. A man stood in front of the screen smirking at his audience.

"Dax," Ray said bitterly.

"Hello one and all! I do hope that your confinement to quarters isn't too inconvenient, and I thank you for cooperating while we search for the escapee. But now I have a way to bring them to me!" Dax said almost giddily. He stepped aside and Ryan gasped. There behind the man stretched out on a vertical table of sorts was Jeremy.

"No," he breathed as his blood froze.

"We caught this little rat snooping around earlier. Now he claims that he's innocent and had been attacked by an infiltrator. If he's telling the truth then I expect that his stay here in this room will be short. If however he's lying, and has some tie to the spy in our midst, then I expect his stay will be quite a painful one until they surrender themselves," he said. Jeremy was thankfully fully clothed Ryan observed. He was tied spread eagle to the table, looking around nervously.

"I told you boss, I work for you alone! My loyalties lie with the Inquisitors! Is this how you treat new members?" Jeremy yelled, panic in his voice. Ryan's eyes widened.

_He's going to have a panic attack!_ he thought as he watched Jeremy thrash around. Dax smiled and signaled to someone off screen. A large man walked towards Jeremy, a roll of silver-grey tape in his hands.

"Are you, FUCKING kidding me?!" Jeremy shouted as the man pulled a long strand from the roll.

"Now, I do hope that wherever you are spy, you do come out to play. I wouldn't want an innocent man getting hurt on your account," he said as the big man taped Jeremy's mouth shut. He looked worriedly at the camera, eyes wide, and seemed to shake his head, as if he knew Ryan was watching. Another big man walked towards Jeremy with a knife in hand and both the lad and Ryan froze in fear. He cut away Jeremy's shirt, revealing the young man's bare chest and stomach, the scars from his ordeal with Lawrence still visible. Jeremy struggled and shouted into his gag, tearing at Ryan's heart as the man made a small cut along the top of Jeremy's chest. Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut and moaned in pain. Ryan reached towards the monitor, a strangled cry emitting from his throat.

The camera zoomed in on Jeremy's pleading face, his eyes warning Ryan not to do anything, all the while Dax's voice could be heard.

"Better hurry, clocks ticking, and he can only lose so much blood,"

Ryan slammed his fist against the wall and roared with anger. He would've lunged at the door but Ray held him still, somehow managing to keep the larger older man from leaving.

"Ryan stop!" he yelled. The man whirled on him, a dangerous look in his eyes, a look Ray knew only too well. A look that meant death was coming. The Vagabond was coming.

"I'm not leaving him Ray! It's my fault he's here and I refuse to let him go through this fucking hell again! He's family Ray, fucking family! Don't try to stop me!" he growled.

"I'm not trying to stop you buddy, in fact I'm going to help you!" Ray said softly. Ryan's eyes widened with surprise.

"You are?" he asked.

"Fuck yeah I am! Jeremy's one of us! He's part of the Crew, he's family now like you said! But all I ask is that you be smart about this. We can't just go in guns a blazing without a plan," Ray said. Ryan frowned but nodded. He turned to Chris.

"Can I make a quick call?" he asked. Chris nodded and handed over his com. Ryan got the contact, his face set in seriousness.

"Who're you calling?" Ashley asked. Ryan smiled darkly.

"I'm playing my cards and hoping I have a winning hand," he said. The others looked at him confused.

"We need more manpower, even with the Fakes and Roosters working together. I'm calling in the reserves!" he said and turned away at the sound of an answer.

"Yeah, what's up big guy?"

"You think you guys are up for a little murdery fun?" Ryan's asked, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Please, you KNOW we're always up for a little murder!" the male voice came back, the smile evident in their voice.

"Good! Here's what I need you to do..." Ryan said, praying that this would work.


	21. Death Awaits

Jeremy refused to let himself slip as Dax's men slowly tortured him. At first they made small cuts along his chest and on his arms, letting his blood trickle down his body. Then they moved to pinching his nose closed causing him to almost blackout from lack of air. One even soaked a washcloth in water and held it over his nose and face, a form of water boarding he wasn't familiar with. He was thankful that they'd left his pants on and hadn't done anything perverse to him.

Yet.

_Keep it together Dooley, you can survive this! If living on the streets all your life didn't kill you than this certainly won't either!_ he thought trying to calm himself down. He was not about to have a panic attack now! He'd find a way out of this and back to Ryan. He moaned in pained again as one of the brutes ran his knife down Jeremy's chest, slicing a clean cut from his collar bone to his sternum, his blood slowly running down his chest. There were several chuckles from brute #2 and Dax, and Jeremy glared over at the man. He would've shouted something about Dax being a motherfucking bastard for treating his men this way, but with the tape covering his mouth he didn't bother as it would've been lost.

"You're either the bravest and most loyal man alive or the most idiotic, I can't decide," Dax said, coming up to stand beside Jeremy, looking down at him. The young man growled through the tape and narrowed his eyes.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said, you've got a little something right..right there," Dax teased and tapped the tape where Jeremy's lips would be. Jeremy glared at Dax and flipped him the bird, earning a chuckle from the man and a rough pat on his cheek.

"You sure are a feisty little guy! I actually really do hope you're telling the truth, I could use more men like you," Dax said.

_Right! Like I'd remain in your gang after this shit!_ Jeremy thought. His eyes caught movement and he saw brute #1 approaching him with something in his hands, a wicked grin on his face. Brute #2 was standing by a control panel hand hovering over a lever. Jeremy didn't have time to connect the dots before brute #1 pressed the two objects, which turned out to be prongs of some sort, to his bare chest and nodded to his coworker who flipped the lever.

Jeremy roared in pain as electricity surged through his body, seizing his muscles. He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut. The pain was excruciating, worse than anything Jeremy had ever felt. He jerked and screamed in pain until brute #2 shut the machine down. Dax walked over and smiled at a panting groaning Jeremy.

"Any fresh new information forming in that noggin of yours?" he asked and tapped Jeremy's forehead. With all the strength he could muster Jeremy glared at Dax and growled out a muffled "fuck you!". The man laughed and reached out, ripping the tape off Jeremy's mouth. The man howled in pain again and knew he'd lost hairs from his goatee and beard.

"Fuck you, you fucking cunt!" he growled, shooting a look at Dax that showed the lad had murder on his mind. Dax gently slapped Jeremy's face and laughed.

"Looks like he's still feisty boys, give him another!" he said and stepped back as brute #1 pressed the prongs to his chest again and Jeremy clenched his teeth as he watched brute #2 flip the lever. His body seized up and he couldn't help the pained howl that escaped from his lips. He screamed in pain, his body beginning to shake. Finally the machine was turned off and Jeremy went limp, gasping for breath, his chest heaving.

"You're fucking insane you know that? Is this how you treat loyal members of your Crew? What have I done?" Jeremy pleaded, trying to make it look convincing. Dax grabbed Jeremy by the hair and slammed his head painfully back onto the elevated table snarling.

"Do you forget why you're here little man? I should kill you outright, but what's the fun in that?" he growled in Jeremy's face. The lad glared up at the gang leader.

"And if I killed you then how would I lure your friends here?" Dax smirked. Jeremy spat in the man's face, knowing he'd suffer for it.

"Fuck you! There are no friends, I'm not a spy, and have I mentioned fuck you?" Jeremy shouted as Dax calmly wiped the spit from his face before smiling down at Jeremy and slamming his fist into the lad's gut. Jeremy gasped in pain and tried to breathe. Dax punched Jeremy in the face, stepping back and watching his captive struggle and groan on the table. He grabbed a knife from a nearby table and stepped back up to Jeremy, laying the knife against the man's throat.

"But don't worry, I'll take my time making you suffer. I'll kill them slowly in front of you first, letting you watch as I break them down and tear them apart. Then I'll start on you, I think I'll begin with your toes and fingers," he said and gently rubbed his hand over Jeremy's pain clenched fingers. Jeremy struggled and growled like a caged animal.

"You're a sick son of a bitch!" he said as Dax laughed and slowly, gently, ran his knife over Jeremy's shoulders, chest, arms, hands, and finally stopping at the lad's belly, the blade gently pressed into the flesh, making Jeremy nervous.

"Did you know, in the animal kingdom the two places a defending animal protects itself from an attacker are its throat and its underbelly. Those are their vulnerable spots. The throat is an instant kill because the jugular vein is severed, while the underbelly holds all the important internal organs," he said and put a little pressure on the knife, watching Jeremy's eyes widen and the lad flinch. Jeremy chuckled nervously switching tactics.

"But when an animal submits to its leader it exposed those areas, as a sign of trust and loyalty," he said and lifted his head slightly, exposing his throat and sticking his stomach out more, being careful of the knife there. Dax narrowed his eyes as Jeremy looked at him, his expression genuine. He shook his head and sighed before making a long shallow cut in Jeremy's belly. The lad not expecting it screamed in pain and clenched his body as he tried to ward off the pain. Dax laughed as he tossed the knife away and signaled to brute #1 who walked over and put another piece of tape over Jeremy's mouth.

"We'll pick this up later, but for now just sit tight," Dax said as he turned and exited the room. Jeremy, panting and trying to calm his breathing, moaned in pain and wondered how much blood he'd lost. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing under control.

_Hurry Ryan, please. Hurry!_ he thought as his world went black.

~~~  
~~~

"So you're just going to sacrifice yourself?!" Jack was livid as Geoff explained his plan to him. It was stupid, ludicrous, insane! The normally calm and controlled man practically shaking with anger. Geoff put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Jack, this is what I need to do to get our boys back," he said gently. Jack shook the hand off his shoulder and pointed a finger at Geoff, poking him in the chest.

"Fuck that! There's another way, there's always another way! And I'll be damned if I let you just walk into a fucking war zone and surrender yourself like some fucked up version of a sacrificial lamb!" Jack was shouting now. Geoff smiled sadly at Jack and shook his head.

"Not this time buddy. I'm responsible for them, and keeping them safe," he said looking up into Jack's eyes. Both men's eyes were watery.

"Geoff, I swear to god, if you go through with this dumbass plan I will take every bottle of whiskey you own and pour it into the streets!" Jack said crossing his arms. Geoff's eyes widened for a moment before he sighed and shook his head.

"Well I'm open to better ideas," he said in a weak voice that cracked. Jack nodded, pulling Geoff into a hug and squeezing tight.

"We all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we signed on for this job Geoff, they know what they're risking. But they're also very capable adults who can take care of themselves. Don't think that throwing your life away will help them any, because they'll just feel responsible for what you did," he spoke softly. Geoff nodded.

"There's always a way out," he quoted. Jack smiled and the two friends separated.

"There's always a way out. Now we just need to figure out what our way out is," he said. Geoff took a deep breath and began pacing, thinking aloud.

"The Inquisitors say they have our men but Jeremy's emails say that they're safe and out of their hands, so obviously this whole proof of life thing is a bluff. Which makes me suspicious of the meeting we were supposed to have to trade me for them," he thought, his mind clearer than it was a moment ago.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Jack asked.

"It's most definitely a trap!" Geoff agreed, stroking his mustache.

"How're we going to fight this Geoff?" Jack asked worried for his boys trapped in the mountain and the impending doom of an exploding mountain. Geoff sighed.

"I don't know Jack. I honestly don't know," he said.

That's when his phone rang.

"What?!" Geoff snapped into the receiver. Jack flinched at the harsh tone in his voice but remained silent.

"Tension getting to you much Ramsey?" came the voice of the Inquisitor he'd talked to earlier.

"With the idiots I work with can you blame me?" he grumbled. There was a chuckle on the other end.

"Touché," he said. Geoff started pacing again.

"What do you want? It's not quite time for you to give me a proof of life of my boys," he said flatly.

"Well about that, seems there's been a rat poking around my base. A little rat with a foul mouth," the voice said. Geoff stopped and raised an eyebrow at Jack.

"Sounds like a personal problem. How does this have to do with my boys?" Geoff asked, trying to keep the unease out of his voice.

"Just seems a little strange that after I take your men and we begin our negotiations that this little spy shows up. You wouldn't be planning anything now would you Ramsey?" the voice teased. Geoff cringed at the annoying tone in the voice.

"Nope I don't have my plotting and scheming pants on," Geoff said, earning a chuckle from Jack.

"Hmm. Well, maybe you'll know who sent this rat," the voice said. Geoff was confused until he heard what sounded like skin slapping skin and a small muffled yelp, followed by something that sounded like tape being ripped off skin and a howl of pain. Geoff bit his lower lip hoping that whoever was the source of the painful noises wasn't one of his men.

"Fuck you asshole!"

Geoff's heart leapt to his throat at the sound of the angry voice. It was Jeremy's. He swallowed knowing these next few moments would determine if the lad would stay safe or not.

"Look at your phone Ramsey," the voice said. Geoff was confused but pulled his phone away as a notification for a video chat popped up. He pressed the notification and immediately regretted it, trying not to visibly react.

Jeremy was strapped spread eagle to a table that was standing almost straight up, bare chested and covered in blood from several cuts and wounds he'd received and covered in bruises from being beaten, a nice shiner forming on his right eye. The kid looked horrible. Geoff did everything he could not to begin trembling with rage.

"Now, this rat says he works for me and no other, and I'll admit he does put up a convincing argument for his case. But I still can't help but suspect that maybe, just maybe he works for you or one of those other gangs out there. Seem familiar to you?" the Inquisitor's voice came over the mic as the camera zoomed in on Jeremy who was breathing hard and trying not to look at the camera. A man Geoff didn't recognize stood behind him and grabbed the kids face and pointed it at the camera. Geoff's heart broke as he saw his newest recruit's eyes. Jeremy was trying to be strong but he was also trying not to show that he was ashamed. That he'd failed. That he was afraid.

Geoff allowed his features to soften slightly as his mind grasped for something to say. If he admitted that Jeremy worked for him then he'd be signing the kid's death certificate. But if he didn't admit it, than there was a good chance Jeremy was in for a world of hurt.

"I'm waiting Ramsey," the voice said impatiently. Geoff swallowed again. He didn't know what to say. He was frozen looking at Jeremy, his voice gone. His mouth moved but no words came out.

"I can see you're having a bit of a problem processing this. Maybe this will help," he said. He signaled to the man standing behind Jeremy who brought out two prongs and stuck them against Jeremy's chest. Geoff saw a look of panic on the kids face and then he heard another signal. The sounds of electricity came and Jeremy clenched up in pain, writhing and crying out. Geoff nearly cried out as well as he watched the kid being tortured before his eyes. The sounds stopped and Jeremy hung limp, gasping for breath and shaking.

"Hit him again!" came the Inquisitor's voice and once again Jeremy was screaming in pain. Geoff bit his lip and fought back his desire to shout for the man to stop.

"You can make this stop Ramsey. Just tell me if this is one of your men," the voice said. Geoff exchanged looks with a horrified Jack who was tearing up listening to the lad's torture. Geoff hung his head with the decision he made. The electricity stopped and Jeremy gasped for breath as everyone awaited the answer. Geoff looked at the screen, at Jeremy. The lad finally raised his head to the camera and looked, it seemed, directly at Geoff. A look of defiance on his face as he barely shook his head, hardly noticeable with his shaking. He didn't want Geoff to say it.

"Times up Ramsey. What'll it be?" the Inquisitor asked. Geoff sighed in surrender.

"I've never seen that man before in my life. Stop wasting my time and show me my boys before our deal is off," he said. He kicked himself for how harsh he sounded and didn't look at Jeremy, not wanting to see what the lad's reaction was.

"Very well. Give me an hour and I'll get back to you," the voice said and the video cut out, the phone call ended. Geoff fell to his knees and growled in anger, slamming his fist into the table. Jack knelt beside him, worry on his face.

"Geoff, what happened?" he asked. Geoff put his head in his hands and shook it.

"I betrayed him Jack. I might as well have shot him myself," Geoff cried. Jack wrapped Geoff in a hug and rocked the two.

"You did what you thought was best. You were trying to protect him and not blow his cover. You did just fine," he said comfortingly. Geoff shook his head but didn't say anything. This is what Jack loved about his friend, that he was so dedicated to keeping his friends and family safe that he'd do anything to do so.

"We'll get them back Geoff, I promise you," he said softly. Geoff nodded and stood slowly, new resolve building within him, the gears spinning in his head.

"Let's go fuck up these sons of bitches!" he said as he stormed out of the room to let the others know they were ready to leave.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy moaned in pain after Dax and the two brutes left. The call with Geoff had gone just as he'd hoped, his boss admitting that he had no affiliation with Jeremy at all. The lad was relieved that his cover wasn't blown just yet, but felt it was time to escape. Looking up at his bound wrists he noted the knots in the rope that secured him to the table. Reaching down as far as he could with his fingers he tested the knots strength and tried loosening it ever so slightly. After a few minutes when his fingers became tired he switched to rotating and twisting his wrist to help. After several switches and exasperating failed attempts he managed to wriggle his hand free from the rope!

Leaning back and catching his breath Jeremy winced as he reached over and untied his other wrist, the cuts on his chest and arms flaring up. He groaned softly again but fought back the urge to quit. He managed to free his other hand and gasped in relief when he relaxed and didn't have to remain stretched out. He allowed himself to relax for a moment, steadying his breathing and wincing at the pain wracking his body. Finally he leaned down and untied his ankles and slowly stepped down from the table, nearly collapsing to the floor in pain and exhaustion. Locating the bucket of water that he'd been water boarded with earlier he grabbed the rag and slowly washed away the sweat and blood from his body, sighing with relief that the cuts from the knives weren't deep and probably wouldn't leave scars.

His shirt lay shredded on the floor at his feet and he momentarily allowed himself a feeling of exasperation.

_Dammit! That was one of my favorite shirts!_ he thought. He found a jacket in a nearby locker that would suffice until he could find a shirt that fit him. Poking his head out of the room he found that both brutes and Dax were nowhere to be seen. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but silently slunk out of the room. He was in a hall that led to another door which he cautiously made his way to. He opened the door only to run straight into one of the brutes. Smiling awkwardly up at the man Jeremy mentally cursed himself.

"Well hello there sir, could you kindly direct me to the nearest exit?" he asked. The man glared down at him and then punched Jeremy in the face.

_Great! Another black eye. Well that was short lived._ he thought as he fell to the floor, his world going black.

~~~  
~~~

"Okay Ryan are you ready?" Ray asked. Ryan had been pacing the entire time and was itching to go. Chris and Ashley had ducked out briefly to talk to their men, returning with weapons for them as well as Ryan's Vagabond mask and leather jacket, along with his jeans and tshirt he'd ditched in the bathroom long ago. Slipping the familiar object over his face Ryan nodded.

"How do I look?" he asked Ray.

"Like a fucking nightmare!" Ray say and smiled at his friend. Ryan smiled back and gripped his pistol and knife.

"Let's go fuck up some Inquisitors!" he said. Chris and Ashley said they'd help and brought in two more men. One was a muscular thin blonde fellow who looked like he could put up a good fight. The other a larger man with a large brown beard and a nose ring. They were introduced as Blaine Gibson and Adam Ellis, the two that had talked earlier with them over the walkie-talkie.

"Who knew that the Roosters would be helping out the Fakes?" Blaine wondered out loud after shaking Ray and Ryan's hands.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ray asked and narrowed his eyes.

"Just never saw this happening, especially after all the tension between our two crews. I'm glad though! It'll be an honor to fight alongside Brownman and the Vagabond!" Blaine explained. Ryan smiled and then nodded at Adam.

"You fuckers ready to go get our man and then blow this joint?" Ray asked. Everyone nodded and they rushed out into the hall when Ray signaled the all clear.

"So this is obviously a trap yeah?" Adam asked as they made their way to the torture room, checking their corners and clearing each hall as they went.

"Indubitably," Ryan said.

"What's our next step then?" asked Chris as he shot a patrolman, his silenced pistol ending the man quickly.

"Spring the trap!" both Ray and Ryan said at the same time, smiling.

"You fuckers worry the shit out of me you know that right?" Adam asked with a nervous laugh. Ryan just let loose one of his evil laughs which sent chills up all their spines.

"You get used to it I promise," Ray said to the group. Just then a voice boomed over the intercoms around the hall.

"Attention everyone, the captive shown earlier has indeed proven to be a spy sent by one of the local gangs. His execution will be promptly held at 7:00," the voice of Dax said, his sneering smile evident in his voice. Ryan's blood froze and he turned to look at Ray who looked nervous.

"Ray, that's in less than twenty minutes!" he exclaimed. The group picked up their pace, desperately trying to get to Jeremy before he was executed.

"Also for your entertainment the execution will be televised! Enjoy!" Dax's voice said.

"We need to get to him NOW!" Ryan shouted back at Ray, not caring about stealth anymore. He needed to save Jeremy.

"We'll get there in time Ryan, we'll save him I promise!" Ray said trying to calm his friend as he expertly shot a gang member in the face.

Don't make promises you know you won't be able to keep Narvaez. Ryan thought to himself as he plunged a knife deep into the heart of another patrolling gang member.

_Hold on Jeremy! I'm coming, just hold on!_ Ryan yelled in his head.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy woke up slowly and blinked away the pain in his head. After today he'd definitely have to visit a doctor to check for concussions. He looked around as the room he was in slowly came into focus. It was dark but he could make out a table next to him and a lamp beside him. He was tied once again to a chair, hands behind his back and feet to the legs of the chair. Duct tape had again been wrapped over his mouth.

_Motherfucker!_ _I_ _swear_ _to_ _Christ_ _if_ _I_ _never_ _see_ _another_ _roll_ _of_ _duct_ _tape_ _again_ _it'll_ _be_ _too_ _soon!_ he mentally growled as he adjusted in his seat to be more comfortable. The whole scenario seemed familiar to him. His eyes widened and his heart leapt into his throat.

_This is just like when I was captured by Funhaus!_

The thought froze Jeremy's blood and panic began to fill him against his will. His breathing quickened and his heart raced, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He needed to get out! A dark chuckle filled the room and he looked up to see Dax standing there smirking at him.

"You may not belong to Ramsey, but you sure as hell don't belong to my group. I'll give you one last chance to spill before it's too late Tim," he said, and Jeremy almost sensed a hint of regret in the voice. He narrowed his eyes and growled through the tape.

"To make things easier I'll just read off a list and you just nod when you hear yours. Got it handsome?" he asked and patted Jeremy's shoulder. Jeremy was filled with panic again as the events of his capture by Funhaus flooded back to mind. This was exactly what had happened before and he was trapped reliving the nightmare all over again. He let out a small whimper of fear which Dax thought was a confirmation whimper.

"Good. Okay we've already ruled out the Fakes. How about the Roosters?" he asked. Jeremy remained unmoved, fighting back tears.

"No? Cow Chop?" Dax asked. Still nothing. He read through his list and Jeremy remained unmoved. At the end Dax sighed and squatted down beside Jeremy.

"I tried to help you out, I really did. But your stubbornness is your downfall!" he said gently. Jeremy's eyes widened, the words the same as what Bruce had said to him right before... He struggled and cried out his protest.

"Relax kid, you should enjoy what little time you still have left, Dax said. Jeremy froze and raised an eyebrow at his captor.

"Oh did I forget to tell you? Your execution is scheduled to occur in..." he paused and checked his watch. "Ten minutes."

Jeremy's eyes widened and he felt a fear grip his heart.

"Guess your little friends didn't bother to save you. They probably left as soon as they found a way out. Some friends, leaving you behind to take all the heat. You're all alone, and you'll die here alone!" Dax said.

Dax laughed and patted Jeremy's cheek before standing and leaving the room. Jeremy sat there in the chair, hope slowly leaving him. He hung his head as the weight of the situation hit him. He was alone. He'd been fighting his whole life, stayed strong. But now everything felt meaningless, and he felt himself slowly surrendering and accepting his fate. There was a small voice in his head though that refused to give up, that called out through the darkness in his mind.

_Hurry Ryan! Please hurry!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm finally back to writing this after a brief hiatus and bad case of writers block. Hope y'all enjoy these last few chapters!


	22. Closing In

Ryan rushed ahead and shot another two patrolling gang members, as he ran. The clock was ticking and he needed to move faster. Running at top speed he turned the last corner, sinking his knife into the throat of a guard that was standing there, the man dying choking on his own blood.

_That_ _one_ _was_ _for_ _Michael!_ Ryan thought as he approached the door. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ray standing there, nodding that he was ready. The plan was for the two of them to run in and clear the way, grab Jeremy, and then get the fuck out. Ryan calmed his breathing and then kicked the door it, rolling to the floor and shooting one of the men standing there. Ray followed quickly and got a headshot on one of the women guards who'd acted quickly and raised her gun, the Puerto Rican's trigger finger faster than hers.

Ryan jumped to his feet and shot another man in the chest and again in the head to make sure he was dead. He looked up and saw a monitor showing Jeremy sitting alone in a dark room, tied to a chair. His heart went out to the lad and he swore not one of these bastards would make it out of here alive for what they'd done to Jeremy.

"Vagabond duck!" Ray yelled. Ryan dropped without question as Ray fired, the bullet slamming into another guard who'd snuck up on Ryan while he'd been distracted. He smiled up at Ray.

"Thanks Ray!" he called.

"Just like old times huh bud?" the lad asked as he fired a few more rounds, downing more guards. Ryan nodded and glanced at the monitor.

_Hold on Jeremy, I'm coming! Just hold on!_ he thought.

~~~  
~~~

The sound of gunfire and screams nearby startled Jeremy and he looked up at the door. Could it be that Geoff and the Crew were here already? He shook his head. They wouldn't come. Maybe for Ryan and Ray, but not for him. He was just the new guy, he didn't hold any value to the Crew yet. He was disposable. The thought made Jeremy wonder why he'd ever fired that sniper bullet in the first place, so long ago setting off the chain of events that led him here. He was glad he'd met Ryan and the others, but he knew that if it came down to it, he was the one that'd be left behind. It was okay though, he'd accepted his fate and was prepared to face the end.

_I_ _guess_ _I'll_ _be_ _seeing_ _you_ _soon_ _mom_ _and_ _dad._ he thought to himself as the noise grew louder. Still, a small part of him refused to give up and held onto the small hope that they'd come to rescue him; to take him home. The door opened and shut quickly and light filled the room. Jeremy looked up and his heart sank when his eyes met those of Dax. The man was accompanied by Brute #2 and held a gun in his right hand which he loaded with one round before spinning the barrel.

"Looks like the execution will be a bit sooner than expected. Why don't we make it entertaining and play a game. Ever hear of Russian Roulette?" he asked. Jeremy's eyes widened and he struggled weakly causing Dax to laugh.

"I see you're familiar with this game then. Six chambers, one bullet. A one in six chance. Where should we start?" Dax said as he leveled the gun at Jeremy's chest.

_Kill shot. Punctured lung and possible severing of spinal cord judging by the angle he's holding the gun and how close he is._ Jeremy found himself thinking. In a sick way it was his way of determining his chances of survival if he were indeed shot. Dax pulled the trigger and Jeremy flinched at the click. Dax smiled and lowered the gun to hover over Jeremy's crotch, the man shifting and struggling in protest.

_Could survive possibly but let's not bother with that area okay bud?_ he thought and screamed as Dax pulled the trigger. Another click. Jeremy sighed in relief.

"Two misses. Three safe shots left and one bullet. Feeling lucky?" Dax asked as he ripped the tape off Jeremy's mouth.

"You fucking son of a whore!" Jeremy yelled in pain, only to have the gun shoved into his mouth. He whimpered slightly as Dax forced his head back.

"At least tell me your name before I kill you," Dax said and pulled the gun away, pressing it into Jeremy's gut. The lad glared at the man for a minute before deciding it wouldn't make his situation any more worse than it was. He was about to open his mouth when there was a roar from behind the door.

"Jeremy!"

Both he and Dax turned their eyes in the direction of the door. Jeremy's heart leapt at the sound of the familiar voice!

_Ryan?_ he thought.

Dax signaled to the brute in the room with them who turned and opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him.

"So, Jeremy is it? Don't say a fucking word or it'll be the last you say!" Dax hissed at Jeremy and pressed the gun harder into the lad's belly. There was a sound from behind the door. The two men remained still, anticipation at what was about to happen filling them. Jeremy nervously flicked his eyes from the gun stuck into his stomach, to Dax, and the door. The door swung open and there stood Brute #2. Jeremy's heart sank. Ryan must not have been successful. Dax stood there for a moment before removing the gun from Jeremy's gut and taking a couple steps towards the brute.

"Well?" he asked. Jeremy watched as the brute swayed and then fell apart. Literally! He gasped as the man's arms and head fell away from his torso and then his body lurched forward, falling to the floor in a crash, blood pooling thickly over the floor. Behind him stood a tall figure covered in blood and wearing a familiar skull mask. Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief.

"What took you so long asshole?" he called, earning a deadly look from Dax and a grunt from Ryan. The man was armed with a long katana.

_A motherfucking sword?! How the fuck?_ Jeremy thought in amusement. His amusement was short lived as Dax darted behind him and Ryan dashed in, followed by Ray who closed the door behind him. Both men leveled their guns at Dax. Dax grabbed Jeremy by the green hair atop the lad's head and pulled it roughly, yanking Jeremy's head to the side as he pressed the barrel of the gun against the lad's temple.

"Come any closer and I'll fucking paint the wall with his brains!" he yelled at the two. Jeremy nervously looked over to Ryan and swallowed. Fear was beginning to creep back into him.

"Let him go or so fucking help me I'll shred you to pieces!" Ryan growled. Dax was actually startled by this threat, the reputation of the Vagabond's ruthlessness apparently well known to the man. Dax swallowed and pressed the gun harder against Jeremy's skull, causing the lad to involuntarily hiss in pain. Both Ryan and Ray's weapons were still leveled at Dax as the three faced off.

Jeremy could barely see the movement but saw Ray's hand sneak out towards the light switch. He looked up at Ryan who nodded ever so slightly and Jeremy knew what he needed to do. Planting his feet firmly on to the ground and preparing for temporary pain he smiled.

"Don't listen to him Vagabond! Don't worry about me, just do what you need to do," he said, giving Ryan the verbal go ahead.

"Shut the fuck up!" Dax yelled and looked down at Jeremy. With that movement Ray flicked the lights off, and shots rang out in the darkened room.

~~~  
~~~

"Jack what's our eta?" Geoff yelled over the noise of the cargo-bob.

"About sixteen minutes. Are you sure that the LSPD won't be riding our asses the whole way?" Jack called back. Geoff looked to Mica who was strapped calmly into one of the seats near him typing away at her laptop. Without looking up she gave Geoff a thumbs up before returning to her typing.

"We should be good to go. I'll contact Treyco and see how he and the others are doing," he told Jack who just nodded and focused on flying. Geoff whipped out his phone and dialed the number and waited impatiently for Trevor's voice to respond.

"Fakes Support where all the magic happens, this is Treyco how may I help you?" Trevor said when he picked up.

"How's it looking down there Trevor? The teams show up yet?" he asked, smiling at the lad's greeting.

"The Roosters are here along with Screw Attack and Funhaus. We're all in position," Trevor said.

"Good! Tell Bragg that we should be arriving shortly and to have the exit clear for us. We'll chute in, grab our guys, kill some baddies, and book it to the safe house," Geoff said.

"One thing boss, just a slight small problem you haven't mentioned," Trevor said.

"What?" Geoff asked.

"THE FUCKING EXPLOSIVE MOUNTAIN OF DOOM!" Trevor shouted.

"Got it handled, just tell Matt we're almost there," Geoff said and hung up.

"Do you think we can pull this off?" Jack shouted back.

"I sure hope so, otherwise we're dead as dicks!" Geoff said as he settled into his seat and double checked his equipment for the billionth time that night.

_Hold on boys! We're on our way!_ he thought.

~~~  
~~~

"Matt, Geoff's on his way. He wants the exit cleaned out before he gets there. Good luck buddy!" Trevor said over the phone.

"Hey you too man! Don't go dying on me, you still gotta beat me at Gang Beasts," Matt said back earning a chuckle from Trevor.

"Deal! Let's go get Jeremy and the others!" he called before hanging up. Matt turned to face his team. The consisted of the main members of Cow Chop, the Creatures, along with a few members from Funhaus and the Roosters.

"Y'all ready for some spring cleaning?" he asked with a smile.

"Ready, willing, and motherfucking able!" James Willems said and gripped his machete tightly in one hand while looking over his handgun in the other.

"My man inside said that he'd made contact with Jeremy several hours ago but hasn't been able to reach him since. Some of my other agents are teamed up with Vagabond and Brownman," Gus Sorola reported.

"Will do. Let's hope they can all manage to keep each other alive while we work our way in," Matt said.

"Let's do this!" Barbara Dunkelman cheered as the team dashed into the mines at the back of the mountain and began clearing out any gang members there as they made their way to the entrance of the Inquisitors' base.

Adam Kovic ran alongside James and Matt and fought with them like a well oiled machine. As he shot a guard and tossed a grenade down a hall he couldn't help thinking about his friends inside.

_Hold on Vagabond ol buddy, we're coming!_ he thought.

~~~  
~~~

Trevor hung up with Matt and smiled at the man standing beside him.

"So, come here often?" he asked. Burnie Burns chuckled and shook his head.

"No Treyco, not as much as I'd like to. Normally it's a beautiful place to look out over the city and ocean and catch the sunset. Well, when it's not filled with damn gangs and God knows how many pounds of explosives!" he said.

"Well I guess it's time we clean up shop and take back what's ours," Trevor said, casually twirling a Bowie knife in his hands. Burnie smiled and turned to one of his nearby associates.

"I like this kid Joel!" he said. Joel Heyman smiled back and nodded.

"That's nice Burnie, you found a friend," he joked and Burnie shoved him playfully.

"Good he can replace you asshole," Burnie joked back. The group waited around for the last few members of their team to show up. Suddenly a twig snapped in the trees nearby and everyone leveled their guns in the direction of the sound.

"GAVIN YOU FUCK! You want to get us all killed?! I swear to god if you get us team killed I'll make it my personal fucking mission to fuck you up in the next life!" came a loud and angry voice and the team relaxed and lowered their guns as Gavin, Michael and Lindsay walked out of the trees, Michael limping.

"A little louder Mr. Jones, I don't think they heard you in fucking Australia!" Bruce Greene snapped. Michael pointed a warning finger at the bearded man.

"One more word and I'll fucking beat you to a pulp. Our Crews may have an alliance, but I won't hesitate to end you for whatever the fuck you did to Jeremy! Are we clear?" Michael growled. Bruce looked ashamed and nodded slowly as Lindsay put a hand on Michael's shoulder to calm him down. There was an awkward tension in the air before Trevor spoke up.

"Well look at us! All together here like a big ol fucked up family! Now, who's up for a little murder?" he asked. The group laughed and the tension was broken as everyone gathered around to formulate a plan. Lindsay was in charge as she knew more about the situation.

"We'll set charges at the weak points Trevor and Matt found earlier and make our way in through there. If everything goes according to plan all our inside help will be waiting for us," she explained. The group nodded and soon were marching the short distance to where Trevor and Matt had found a possible way into the mountain. As they walked Lindsay bit her lip and worried about her friends and the mission.

_Okay boys, don't worry, we're on our way! It's time to come home!_ she thought.

~~~  
~~~

When the lights came back on Ryan ran forward pulling his mask up and sheathing his katana which he'd found on their way here. Jeremy lay on the ground, the chair on its side. He wasn't moving.

_Oh god! Jeremy please don't be dead!_ Ryan thought as he pulled up and squatted down next to the chair. He was afraid to touch the lad, afraid of what he might find.

"J..Jeremy?" he said softly, voice cracking as he reached out and gently touched the lad's arm.

"Are you going to pick me up already? I'm pretty sure I dislocated my shoulder," Jeremy said. The two laughed and Ryan stood Jeremy back up and then looked up at him, tears filling his eyes.

"You didn't come back and I got so worried," Ryan said. Jeremy winced in pain but smiled down at Ryan.

"Got a little sidetracked. Sorry about that," he said as Ryan began untying him. Jeremy fell out of the chair and into the arms of Ryan and the two hugged.

"Thanks for rescuing me again. I wasn't sure I was gonna make it out of this one," Jeremy whispered into Ryan's ear as tears filled his own eyes. Ryan squeezed him a little tighter  and laughed.

"I'd never leave you behind," he said back, causing Jeremy to shed a few tears.

"When you two are done with you little bromance over there you might want to know that Dax is gone," Ray said from the light switch. Ryan and Jeremy parted and looked around, seeing no sign of Dax.

"Fuck he got away!" Jeremy growled. He stood and massaged his arms and shoulders where he'd been pinned painfully to the ground by the chair. As Ray had flipped the light switch Jeremy had heaved himself back as hard as he could, tipping the chair back and fell to the ground, rolling onto his side and hoping not to get shot. The movement had surprised Dax and he'd released Jeremy's hair.

"We need to find him!" Ryan said and the two stood and darted for the door, neither seeing Ray wince in pain and check the bleeding wound in his side as they passed. The trio met up with the Roosters waiting for them and together they made their way to the command center.

"By now an alarms been raised and they'll have people coming our way," Adam said.

"Good! I could up my kill count a bit more," Ryan growled, anger burning in his eyes. Jeremy glanced at him, not seeing the gentle Ryan that he'd grown close to, but the Vagabond running beside him. Somehow, that sent a buzz of exhilaration through him.

_He's a little fucked up, but it's a fucked up I understand and can get behind._ he thought as they ran. His jacket rubbed against his cuts and he winced in pain.

"Definitely going to have to get those bandaged," he said to himself. Rounding a corner the team ran into a group of gang members who began shooting at them. Ryan shoved the unarmed Jeremy behind him and whipped out a knife, throwing it expertly at the nearest goon, the blade sinking into the woman's heart.

"Nice throw," Jeremy said with a smile. Ryan looked back at him, relief that Jeremy wasn't freaked out flooding him.

"Thank you!" he said with a smile before pulling his mask back down and firing his pistol at another. They pushed forward and as they passed bodies Jeremy picked up a couple handguns and ammo. Joining his friends he helped mow down their opposition until they were once again running to the command center.

"What's the plan Vaga?" Ashley asked.

"Find Dax and either force him to disarm all the explosives under our feet, or kill him. Personally I prefer the killing part, I've got a score to settle with him!" he said. Jeremy nodded.

"Not if I get to him first," he smirked and Ryan smiled back at him. They burst into the room, but no one was there. The group slowly made their way around the room searching for anyone or anything that would tell them where Dax was. Ryan ran to the office and Jeremy started to make his way there when something caught his eye. A monitor that seemed to be giving feed of the office. He saw Ryan looking around the desk, the couch, the locker where he'd hidden, the bookshelf...

Jeremy froze. He didn't remember the bookshelf being there behind the desk, but rather a wall with art hung on it. The bookcase was new. Dashing to the office he pushed past an exasperated Ryan who watched him curiously as he poked around the bookcase.

"What's up Lil J?" Ryan asked. Jeremy looked over at Ryan and smiled.

"Lil' J huh?" he asked. Ryan blushed and smiled.

"I mean, we already have Jack and he's obviously Big J, I figured with you in the Crew you could be Lil' J," he explained. Jeremy laughed and nodded.

"I've been called worse," he said and turned back to the bookcase. "Now to answer your question, when I was in here earlier this wasn't here," he said and indicated the furnishing. Ryan walked over and studied the shelf.

"Maybe they moved it in since you've been here?" he asked.

"Impossible, that was only about an hour ago. Dax has had the place on lockdown and he was busy with me the whole time," he said shaking his head. Ryan crouched down next to the right side of the case and studied the floor.

"There's residue here on the floor," he observed and ran his finger through it and rubbed it between his fingers.

"Concrete!" both he and Jeremy said at the same time. Ryan searched the floor near them and found a half circle crack.

"It's a false wall. Find the activator!" he said and he joined Jeremy in his search. Eventually Jeremy's hand found the switch on the left side of the bookcase and pressed it. Immediately the wall began to rotate.

"Yo assholes wait for me!"

Jeremy turned to see Ray stumbling into the office and dashing over to them. Ryan and Jeremy smiled at him.

"You ready for this Ray?" Jeremy asked.

"You fucking bet I am! Y'all ain't leaving this Puerto Rican behind when there's action nearby!" Ray said with a smile. Jeremy smiled and was about to turn away when he noticed Ray holding his side, blood covering his hand. He caught Ray's eye and looked pointedly at the wound. Ray just shook his head. Jeremy frowned but said nothing. The trio waited in anticipation as the wall slowly rotated into a new room which led out into a dark hall dimly lit by fluorescent lights.

"We're closing in boys," Ryan said and stepped out into the room followed by Jeremy and Ray.


	23. No Turning Back

Ryan slowly walked down the hall, keeping careful watch for any movement. Behind him followed Jeremy and then Ray. Every now and then Jeremy would worriedly glance back at Ray to see if he was okay, Ray in response shaking his head and nodding forward, silently telling Jeremy not to worry about it and to pay attention to what they were doing. At the end of the hall Ryan paused and held up a hand. He pressed an ear to the door there and listened.

"I can't hear anything. Let's go!" he said and slowly opened the door. The trio walked out into the torture room Jeremy had been held in, the door being a part of the wall, hidden from view of one wasn't looking hard enough.

"Did we seriously just walk in a damn circle?" Jeremy asked. Ryan scratched his head confused.

"It appears we have," he said.

"So what, when the lights went out Dax went through the door and back to the office which we just left?" Ray asked. Jeremy looked around the room, remembering his time there and cringing at the pain he felt in his still fresh wounds.

"The bucket is gone," he observed.

"The what now?" Ryan asked poking around the other walls. Jeremy realized what he said and dashed to the door that he'd tried to escape from earlier. Opening it he saw not the long hallway he'd seen earlier, but the hangar he'd driven into earlier that day. Or was it yesterday? He saw that a door was open on the other side of the hangar and a bloody handprint on the wall next to it.

"This is a duplicate room! He's escaping into the hangar!" he exclaimed and rushed forward. Ryan and Ray looking up and then following. Jeremy sprinted down the length of the hangar, keeping an eye out for enemies as he crossed the open expanse.

"Jeremy wait it could be a trap!" Ray called. Jeremy pulled up next to the door and peered in while he waited for Ryan and Ray to catch up. He listened hard but couldn't hear anything besides the footfalls of Ray and Ryan as they approached him. The blood was still fresh as Jeremy examined it, Dax only passing here a few minutes ago.

"C'mon he's close!" he urged and ducked into the room followed a moment later by Ryan and Ray. Jeremy didn't know where he was going, just that he had to stop Dax. Suddenly there was a loud booming noise and the whole place shook.

"What the fuck was that?" yelled Ray.

"Hopefully Geoff with the rescue squad," Ryan said and hurried to catch up to Jeremy.

~~~  
~~~

"Michael what the hell?!" Lindsay coughed as the smoke and debris cleared. The explosion had been massive. Luckily everyone had had enough sense to stand far back.

"What? You said come prepared so I did!" Michael yelled back.

"I didn't want you to blow up half the mountain!" Lindsay argued.

"Little explosions are for pussies Linds! Besides, now we have a big enough escape route for more of us," Michael said and pointed at the gaping hole in the mountain. Lindsay closed her eyes and pinched the brim of her nose.

"Yes Michael, you did good," she sighed. Michael smiled at his victory.

"Trevor would you check in with Matt and see how group two is doing?" Lindsay asked.

"You mean group one?" Trevor asked.

"Group one? Aren't we group one?" Burnie asked. Trevor shook his head.

"We're group A. Group one is Matt's," Trevor explained. The group stared and scratched their heads.

"That's stupid!" Gavin said finally.

"Maybe if someone showed up on time he would've been in on the group naming committee," Trevor said as he pulled out his communicator, causing several group members to chuckle.

"Bragg this is Collins, what's your status?" Trevor asked.

"In desperate need of some fucking nachos man!" Matt's voice came back. Trevor laughed and shook his head.

"Okay but how goes the exit cleaning?" he asked.

"Oh that, hold on a sec," Matt said and there was the sound of a gunshot and some screaming before he replied. "Going pretty good, should be done in a minute."

"Cool beans, see ya in a few!" Trevor said and smiled.

"Later tater!" Matt said and turned off his communicator. Trevor turned to Lindsay.

"The walking case of diabetes says they should be done here in a minute, just in time for Geoff to get here," he said. Lindsay nodded and turned to the group.

"Alright, there's no turning back now! Let's meet up with our inside help and get our boys out!" she said and the group charged through the gaping hole in the side of the mountain.

~~~  
~~~

"Geoff, Matt's basically ready for you on the ground, be ready to jump in thirty seconds!" Jack called back from the cockpit of the cargo-bob. Geoff nodded and unbuckled his harness and pulled on his parachute, preparing to jump.

"You're clear! Go!" Jack's voice came and Geoff leapt out into thin air. Free falling for a minute Geoff let the feeling of excitement and exhilaration that he always got after jumping out of aircraft or off tall buildings take over. Pulling his cute he glided gently and gracefully through the air, keeping an eye out for enemies and looking for the drop point where Matt was supposed to meet him. Spotting the blinking light from the flashlight he steered himself towards it and landed, tucking and rolling with the force of the landing. Unhooking himself from his parachute he turned on his communicator.

"I'm on the ground!" he said.

"Okay, I'm turning around to make the drop-off then we'll be back for extraction. Say hi to Bragg for me!" Jack's voice came.

"Will do. Stay safe Jack!" Geoff said and made his way towards his men. He spied Matt and smiled as he approached.

"How's the tunnel clearing going?" he asked in his boss voice. Matt smiled back.

"Done and done. Made it to the door, just waiting for you so you could be there when we breach," Matt said.

"Bragg, that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me!" Geoff smiled and slapped Matt on the back. Walking to the cave Geoff noted the fallen Inquisitor bodies and the team milling about waiting for him.

"Ramsey! Been a long time buddy!"

Geoff turned and smiled as a man approached him. He extended his hand and shook the man's hand.

"Gus Sorola! How ya been you fucking bastard?" he asked as he greeted his friend.

"Been good. Looks like Grif and Simmons are back together!" Gus smiled. Geoff smiled back.

"In that case we're all fucked," he joked. The two friends laughed and turned to the team.

"Okay dickheads, who's ready to get our men out?" Geoff asked. There was a cheer as Gus and Geoff led the charge through the entrance and into the base within the mountain. None of the team noticed the shadows moving quickly outside and following close behind.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy had felt the explosion but had pressed forward, knowing that Dax needed to be stopped. His instincts told him to slow down but his feet carried him on. The hall he was in led him to a second hangar bay with a few cars and trucks and a couple helicopters and planes. Jeremy pulled up and took in the hangar while he waited for Ryan and Ray to catch up. The hangar was smaller than the main one, seeming more like a private personal area.

_Figures that Dax had a contingency plan to abandon his followers when shit went down._ Jeremy thought. Ryan and Ray pulled up beside him and looked around.

"Cozy ain't it?" Ray asked, panting slightly. Jeremy chuckled.

"Where do you think he went?" he asked. Ryan looked around.

"I don't see a blood trail, maybe he patched himself up?" he suggested. Jeremy looked towards one of the small private jets and narrowed his eyes.

"That things ramp is down and the wooden blocks to hold the tires in place are gone," he pointed out. Ryan and Ray made their way towards the jet while Jeremy walked the perimeter. Finding nothing he walked towards the others when he spotted movement. Acting fast Jeremy dashed forward and tackled Ray to the ground, the heavy metal pipe that had been thrown clattering to the floor where Ray's head had been.

"Get down!" Jeremy yelled. Ryan turned to see Dax standing behind the ramp and darted forward, pulling out his handgun. Dax smiled.

_Why is he smiling?_ Jeremy wondered. Ryan was just raising his gun when Jeremy saw it. The stun stick gripped tightly in Dax's hand.

"Ryan look out!" Jeremy yelled but it was too late. Dax raised his arm and Ryan locked up in pain, electricity surging through him. Jeremy leapt to his feet as Ryan fell, Dax grabbing him and pulling him up in front of him. Snatching up Ryan's gun he pointed it at the man's head.

"Make another move and I swear to god I'll blow his fucking brains out!" Dax roared, desperation in his eyes and voice. Jeremy clenched his hands into fists, anger filling him.

"Let him go you son of a bitch!" he growled. Ray stood beside him, calculating what their next move should be.

"I'm taking off, and you're not going to follow me or I'll kill him!" Dax said as he slowly began backing up. Ryan weakly tried to fight back which earned him another jolt of electricity. He screamed in pain and felt his limbs become unresponsive as he was hauled backwards onto the jet, Dax pushing his weak body to the wall as he raised the stairs, gun still pressed to Ryan's head. The last thing Ryan saw before the ramp closed was Jeremy's angry fearful eyes.

Dax let Ryan crumple to the floor, a moan of pain escaping from the man involuntarily. He ziptied Ryan's hands behind his back and then hauled him to his feet and shoved/dragged him down to the cockpit where he pushed Ryan to the floor.

"I can still escape, I can still get away!" Dax muttered to himself as he set about prepping the jet for takeoff. Ryan tried to gain control of his limbs again and lolled his head to the side, trying to see if there was anything he could use to escape or use to kill Dax.

"And with the Vagabond as my hostage I'll make it out safe and sound!" Dax continued, a crazed tone in his voice like that of a trapped animal.

  
Outside Jeremy looked around for a way into the plane, desperate to save Ryan and kill Dax. Ray was breathing hard and holding his wound, blood flowing freely from it again.

"Jeremy, fuck up the landing gear. Then do something about the tail fin," he said as he studied the jet. Jeremy worked fast and took his knife, stabbing the tires and loosening some of the bolts higher up on the landing gear. He turned his attention to the tail fin and considered what to do about it.

"Ray what do I do? I can't reach it and I don't have a gun anymore, I ran out of ammo," he called. Ray handed his gun over.

"Take a few shots but make sure the ricochet doesn't kill the fuck out of us," he said. Jeremy nodded and aimed for the weak point Ray was pointing at and fired. The loud eruption echoed in the hangar and the sound of the bullet bouncing off metal followed.

"Fuck! Didn't work. I'll try again," Jeremy said. Pulling the trigger he got the same results.

"Dammit!" Jeremy yelled in frustration. They were running out of time.

_Ryan's running out of time._ he thought to himself.

"Ray, what do we do?" he cried desperately. Ray paled and shook his head.

"I don't know Jeremy, I don't know," he said sadly as the sounds of the jets engines starting reached their ears.

"Well whatever we do, we need to do it now!" Jeremy said. Suddenly there was another explosion nearby.

~~~  
~~~

"Fuck! We're pinned down! Gus is there another way around these fuckers?" Geoff exclaimed as the bullets flew around him. His team had made it inside only to be stopped three hallways down by several Inquisitor troops.

"I'm not sure, let me get my man on the line!" Gus called and tapped his earpiece.

"Miles you copy?" he said into the communicator.

"Loud and clear boss!" Miles' voice rang over the com.

"We need a way out of hallway 34. It's blocked by goons and we need to get around them. Any suggestions?" Gus asked.

"One sec," Miles said. Gus waited and then the sounds of nearby gunfire reached his ears. He looked up to see a group of people flanking the Inquisitor troops and mowing them down. Gus and the rest of the team cheered as they surged forward to help with the attack and soon the gang members lay dead at their feet. Miles walked forward smiling.

"Well look who it is! The Cheesemaster himself!" he exclaimed and shook Gus' hand. He turned to Geoff and saluted.

"Miles Luna of the Roosters reporting for duty Mr. Ramsey!" he said. Geoff chuckled and returned the salute.

"Just call me Geoff kid, Mr. Ramsey makes me feel like a fucking grandpa," he said. The group laughed. Geoff saw several of the Creatures' members, a young man that Funhaus introduced as Spoole who was one of their old members but still ran a few undercover missions for them, and two men who belonged to the Roosters, Kyle Taylor and Adam Ellis.

"Okay, we need to meet up with team 2..." Geoff began.

"Team A actually," Matt interjected. Geoff stared at him.

"ANYway, we'll meet up with the rest of our losers and then find our missing men. Then blow this joint," Geoff continued.

"We're not actually blowing up the mountain are we?" Miles asked nervously.

"No dude, it's a figure of speech!" Adam Ellis said. Geoff nodded.

"What is the plan for dealing with the shit ton of dynamite they have here?" Gus asked Geoff quietly.

"I'm still working that out," Geoff muttered as the team moved out to find group A, wondering himself how exactly they'd deal with that obstacle.

~~~  
~~~

"Gavin what the fuck I could've died!" Michael roared once the last Inquisitor had fallen. Gavin had pulled a risky move and shot a rocket launcher, the rocket zipping right past Michael's head and killing the Inquisitors. While effective the Brit's efforts weren't very appreciated.

"I wouldn't have hit you boi, you were perfectly safe," Gavin said. Michael stared at his friend.

"You shot a fucking rocket at my fucking head you moron! At what point in that plan did the word safe come into play?!" he yelled. Burnie and the rest stood back awkwardly as they watched the two lads arguing while Lindsay facepalmed.

"Professional as always," she said with a chuckle.

The group moved forward and were soon joined by Ashley, Blaine, a shorter man that Funhaus introduced as Matt Peake, a lad named Kerry Shawcross, and a shorter man and woman called Tyler Coe and Mariel Salcedo. Together the group cleared hall after hall, killing every Inquisitor they encountered. Then Burnie and Joel gave a cry of happiness when they spotted Team 1. Walking up to Geoff and Gus the friends shook hands.

"How ya been Church? Caboose?" Geoff asked with a laugh.

"It's been a crazy few weeks Grif!" Burnie said laughing at his old codename Church. Kerry looked over at Bruce and whispered.

"Who the what now?" he asked.

"These four have been close friends for awhile, back in the early days of Los Santos, they had their own Crew of them and a few others. They went by different names back then," Bruce explained. Kerry nodded. Looking back towards the group of friends something caught the lad's eye.

"Look out!" he yelled and pointed behind the group. The four turned and saw a pack of Inquisitors charging, guns raised. Just as they were about to open fire something strange happened. There were screams from the back of the Inquisitors and blood started flying into the air. Geoff spotted a figure dressed in black leap over the head of the lead Inquisitor and sweep down with his arm, the Inquisitor's head falling from his shoulders and his body crumpling to the floor. The figure landed in a crouched ready stance as the last Inquisitor fell, revealing a small group of figures.

"What the fuck?" Michael exclaimed. The figure who'd landed up front was dressed in a black traditional ninja Shinobi. He stood and sheathed his Ninjatō and pulled down his mask to reveal a young man maybe in his early twenties with dark brown facial hair and shining green eyes that sparkled with mischief.

"Did we miss the party?" he asked.

"Who the fuck are you?" Geoff and Burnie asked at once. The young man smiled and bowed.

"Sorry, forgot bossman hasn't talked about us. Yeah we're the Vagabonds! Huge fans by the way! Love y'all's work," he said. The group stood there for a minute staring. One of the figures, a young woman with long blonde hair cocked her head at them.

"Yeah thanks guys for saving us we really appreciate you coming and saving our fucking hides," she said in a sarcastic voice. The young man smiled and turned to look at her.

"I'm sure they were getting to that part Lotti," he said and winked.

"Can we go kill some more people already please?" asked another young woman.

"I got your back Fallz!" another young man said.

"Thanks Omega!" Fallz smiled.

"What the fuck is happening right now?" Michael exclaimed. The young man up front saluted.

"Bossman, you call him the Vagabond, called us awhile ago. Sorry we're late. We were told to come help you guys clear this place out and help rescue bossman and Lil J," he explained.

"Lil J?" Gavin asked with a grin.

"That's what he called your friend Jeremy. Said y'all needed some extra hands to help unalive some of these assholes," the lad said and kicked the decapitated body at his feet for extra emphasis.

"Oh, er..okay. Thanks?" Geoff said still a little confused.

"No prob! Happy to help. Better than staying at home playing video games again," the lad said.

"Speak for yourself!" Lotti chimed in. The small group laughed and then headed down the hall shouting bets to each other and laughing at the prospect of upping their kill counts, all the while kicking the severed Inquisitor head between them like a soccer ball.

"The Vagabond's got a fan club?!" Michael asked.

"I like them!" Trevor said with a giant smile and the group laughed as they continued their hunt for the missing Fakes.


	24. Working with the Fakes

Jeremy looked in the direction of the explosion and saw several figures racing towards them. He signaled to Ray who looked and frowned.

"They don't move or look like Inquisitors but they also don't look like the Fakes. Who the hell are these people?" he asked.

"Whoever they are I hope they're ready for a fight!" Jeremy said and squared up, ready to lay into the fast approaching group of people. The first one in the group to reach the hangar skidded to a stop and looked at the two Fakes. He was dressed in a ninja outfit that Jeremy found to actually be pretty cool. He hand rested on a sword sheathed at his side. The others in the group joined him.

"Ray Narvaez! And I'm assuming you're Jeremy Dooley?" the lad said. Ray and Jeremy exchanged glances then looked back to the lad who was standing there smiling, his emerald eyes sparkling.

"Umm...yeah. And you would be?" Jeremy asked.

"Intros later, where's the Vagabond? Is he okay?" the lad asked. Jeremy was instantly on alert and glared.

"Why do you need to know that?" he asked.

"Because Jeremy, he asked them to come here and help rescue us," Ray said, realization hitting him. Jeremy looked at him shocked and the lad nodded.

"He wanted some extra help for the rescue party so he called in a favor," Ray continued.

"Aye, and the arshole owes us for this," chimed in one of the young women in the group. The group giggled and the lad turned to Jeremy and offered a shrug.

"She ain't wrong," he said. Jeremy was very confused but rolled with it.

"The leader of the Inquisitors, Dax, took him hostage and has him on that jet. They're about to take off. I sabotaged the landing gear but I don't think that'll be enough," he explained. The lad listened intently and nodded.

"On it! Fallz, Omega, fuck up that jet so it can't take off. Lotti you and I will work on getting bossman out. Tabi, could you and Cheryl please take a look at Mr. Narvaez' wound there? Jeremy, you come with me and Lotti!" the lad said. The young man and woman behind the lad nodded and raced towards the tail of the jet, while a young woman with black cat ears on her head and another woman approached Ray with medkits. The lad looked back at the blonde haired girl who rolled her eyes.

"Fine! Let's go rescue the idiot again!" she said.

"Again?" Jeremy asked as he followed the two strange kids.

"Don't ask," the lad said and the three charged forward. Reaching the jet where the ramp was now closed the lad looked at Jeremy.

"You pretty strong?" he asked. Jeremy smiled.

"You bet!" he said.

"Sweet! Throw me!" the lad said with a grin. Jeremy stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Throw me! Like give me a boost but add more umph to it, ya know?" the lad said and pointed to the top of the jet. Jeremy understood what the lad was trying to do and nodded. He and Lotti bent down and cupped their hands, the lad stepping boldly into them and bracing himself on their shoulders.

"Ready lad?" Lotti asked. The lad nodded and smiled.

"Don't drop me this time," he teased. Lotti rolled her eyes.

"For fucks sake that was ONE time!" she said but smiled. Jeremy counted to three and then he and Lotti heaved the lad up with all their strength while at the same time the lad pushed off of their hands like a springboard and went sailing into the air, flipping midway. In midflip the lad drew his sword and raised it above his head. As he landed on the jet and began to slide down its side he drove the sharp blade into the side, coming to a stop. Hauling himself up to the top of the jet he waved down at Lotti and Jeremy and then spoke into the com in his ear.

"Lotti, on my signal get ready to blow open the ramp hatch, okay? Just don't blow up the fuselage," he said.

"No, really? I was just gonna make the whole thing go boom and kill us all. Just get to the cockpit already will ya," Lotti replied. Jeremy looked at her worriedly.

"What are we doing?" he asked nervously. Instead of replying Lotti shoved something against his chest as she approached the ramp door to examine it.

"Hold that for a minute," she ordered. Jeremy looked at the object and paled.

"Is this C4?!" he asked, his voice going up an octave.

"No it's a fucking block of play dough, of course it's fucking C4 what else would it be?" Lotti said as she examined the side of the jet.

_Ryan you sure have some weird friends!_ Jeremy thought.

  
Inside Ryan and Dax had also heard the explosion.

"What now?!" Dax shouted. Ryan chuckled.

"You're going to lose, my friends are here and now you're fucked and they're going to kill you. That is, if I don't get to you first!" he said. Dax backhanded Ryan and glared at him.

"Shut the fuck up! I'm getting out of here in one piece or they'll be cleaning you off the walls for the next month!" Dax shouted. Ryan spat at him through his mask.

"Fuck you! There's no way you're winning this. Face the facts, you've lost!" he said.

"I swear one more word out of you and I'll gag you!" Dax said and pointed menacingly at Ryan. Suddenly there was a knocking sound. Ryan and Dax both looked towards the cockpit window. Dax gasped and Ryan started laughing. There, upside down was a kid in his early twenties in a ninja outfit waving at them with a big smile on his face.

"Excuse me, when does the store open?" he asked, knocking again. Ryan laughed again and Dax pointed the gun at the lad. Before Ryan could react Dax had pulled the trigger. The loud report of the gun filled the cabin but Ryan also heard a yelp of surprise as the lad pulled his head up, the glass cracking and beginning to shatter from the bullet. The lad peeked back through a moment later then poked his head all the way out again.

"Wow! Rude! Customer service just isn't what it used to be," he said. Ryan saw him reach up and then slam something solid into the window, shattering it. There was a metallic thud as a small metal object fell to the floor and rolled towards them.

"Bossman cover your eyes!" the lad yelled before disappearing. Without hesitation Ryan slammed his eyes closed and heard the flash bang grenade explode. Light danced on the other side of his eyelids and he heard Dax scream. At the same time there was an explosion from the cabin where the ramp was. Ryan opened his eyes to see Dax waving the gun around with one hand and holding the other arm over his eyes. The lad swung in and kicked the gun out of Dax's hand, sending it flying into the waiting hand of Jeremy who now stood in the cabin with Lotti.

"Happy birthday!" the lad cheered and shoved Dax forward into Lotti who grabbed him and dragged him out of the jet and down to where the others waited. Jeremy was crouched next to Ryan, cutting his hands free and wrapping him in the biggest hug he'd ever given.

"Next time I warn you about something don't fucking charge at it!" he said sternly as he fought back tears.

"Jeremy please, you know I can't promise that," Ryan said with a smile, returning the hug as Jeremy helped him to his feet.

"He's right ya know, charging in is way more fun!" the lad said.

"Ninjy! Glad to see you guys made it in time!" Ryan said and threw an arm around the lad in a playful hug.

"Of course we made it in time big guy! After all we are your Vagabonds!" the lad, Ninjy said. Jeremy shook his head.

"I sure hope someone explains what's going on to me!" he said. Ninjy extended his hand.

"NinjaMonkey at your service! I'm one of Ryan's loyal and humble Vagabonds," he said. Jeremy took the hand and shook it as the trio walked down the ramp.

"Humble is the last word I'd use to describe you Ninja!" Lotti said. She stood there with the others, Dax bound and kneeling at their feet.

"Lotti you came!" Ryan smiled.

"Well someone had to save your stupid arsh now didn't they?" she asked with a wink and then hugged Ryan as well. The other Vagabonds gathered around Ryan and exchanged hugs, handshakes and pats on the back while Ray, Jeremy, and even Dax looked on utterly confused.

"Sorry guys, this must be weird for you," Ninja said to the group.

"Yeah, just a little," Ray said.

"Can you please explain what's going on?" Jeremy asked. The Vagabonds turned to Ryan and looked at him expectantly. Ryan sighed.

"So funny story, I found out a couple years ago that there were a lot of Vagabond fans out there, some even dressing up and impersonating me. So I kinda recruited them," Ryan said.

"More like indoctrinated us," Omega pointed out causing Ninja and Tabi to giggle.

"So what you're saying is, you have your own private cult or army?!" Jeremy exclaimed. Lotti and Ninja groaned.

"Don't even get us started on cults! You've no idea about the Egg Nation and the Cot Squad and how big they've grown!" they said.

"I'm not even going to ask," Ray said laughing. Ryan looked a little embarrassed.

"Sorry I never told any of you about any of this," he said.

"Except you, you can go suck a dick!" Lotti said and pointed at Dax. The rest turned to the man.

"What're we gonna do with him boss?" Tabi asked crossing her arms and glaring at Dax.

"Can we skin him alive please? I just got a new knife I wanna try out!" Ninja said giving Dax a crazed look.

"We could boil him in oil," Lotti suggested.

"Vagabond, what do we do?" Jeremy asked. Ryan looked at him and smiled.

"You know, I really admire the work you did with Lawrence, I'd love to see it first hand!" he said. Jeremy's eyes lit up and a smile crossed his face.

"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!" he said jokingly and turned back to Dax.

"Where to start?" he said to himself as he looked the man over. To everyone's surprise Dax began laughing.

"Umm...guys, I think it's broken," Ninja said and pointed at Dax.

"Really Mad Bro? A joke?" Tabi asked while trying to hide a smile.

"I can't help it if this thing is stuck on repeat," Ninja said pointing at Dax again. Jeremy ignored the two and stared at Dax.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Dax looked up at the group, crazed laughter coming from him.

"You fools are all royally fucked!" he shouted. Just then several Inquisitors rushed in and opened fire on the group. Lotti and Ninja dove behind cover and returned fire while Omega and Fallz pulled out grenades and chucked them at the enemy; Tabi and Cheryl helped Ray to cover returning fire as Ryan and Jeremy stood and covered them.

"Boss there're too many of them, we gotta bail!" Fallz shouted, always the voice of reason. Ryan looked down to where Dax sat still laughing and kicked himself inwardly.

"Dammit! Fine!" he shouted. Jeremy leveled his gun at Dax and pulled the trigger, only to find that he was out of ammo.

"Oh you son of a bitch!" he shouted and followed Ryan and the others as they dashed down a hall away from the Inquisitors.

"I hate running," Ryan growled to him as they covered Ray and the others from any attacks from the rear.

"I hear ya buddy, we'll get him though, don't worry. That asshole is going to get what's coming to him!" Jeremy said back as Ray tossed him another mag for his gun. The group ran for a few more minutes before they entered a room filled with Inquisitors and Vagabonds fighting, some with weapons while others hand to hand. There was one group of Vagabonds led by a figure in a fox mask who made their way to Ryan.

"Hey boss! Good to see you haven't gotten yourself killed," the fox masked one said.

"Not yet, but the day's still young Vix. Have you come across the Fakes yet?" Ryan asked after greeting the group. Vix nodded.

"They're in the next room with Layne and Tats fighting another batch of these fuckers. Go get em, we've got this handled!" she said and waved as she and the rest of the group moved off followed by Lotti, Fallz, Cheryl, Omega and Tabi.

"Stay safe okay guys?" Ninja said as they left.

"Will do Mad Bro!" Tabi said and threw a knife into the chest of an Inquisitor.

"Chaos Buddies!" Lotti said with a smile then took off into the fray.

"Let's go!" Ryan said and led Jeremy and Ninja who was helping Ray along. Fighting their way through the ranks they finally broke into the other room where the rescue party was fighting off the last of the Inquisitors. Gavin looked up and gasped, waving excitedly.

"It's Ray! X-ray!! And Jeremy and Vagabond!" he cheered loudly. Ryan smiled and led the charge as the four of them cut down Inquisitors left and right until they reached the group, he and Ninja hacking Inquisitors to pieces with their swords, then Ninja falling back to cover Ray, Jeremy taking his place as he and Ryan blasted their way through enemy after enemy.

"What took you so long Geoff?" Ray asked with a smile. Geoff hugged all three, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Don't ever go getting kidnapped again! You've no idea how stressful the paperwork to get you fuckers back was!" he joked as he hugged his boys.

"Who's your friend?" Gavin asked walking up and pointing to Ninja. The lad looked up from where he'd been shuffling awkwardly at the reunion and smiled.

"NinjaMonkey at your service Mr. Free! Pleasure to finally meet you," he said and extended his hand. Gavin shook the hand and raised an eyebrow.

"That's a rather odd name. And how do you know my name?" he said.

"Real name's hush hush, can't let my secret identity get out ya know. As to how I know your name, well, been a fan for awhile of you guys and your work," Ninja winked. Ryan introduced Ninja to the rest of the Crew and then the others in the rescue party, Burnie actually recognizing him as a freelancer who'd done a bit of work for the Roosters on small jobs in the past.

"Well now that we've rescued you let's haul ass out of here! I could use a drink!" Geoff said. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Rescued us? Please, at best we rescued you," he said causing Jeremy and Ninja to giggle. Geoff stumbled over a snarky retort which just made the situation funnier.

"Geoff, ya there buddy?"

Geoff touched the com in his ear at the sound of Jack's voice, handing Jeremy, Ryan and Ray coms so they could stay in touch.

"Yeah Jack go ahead," he responded.

"There's a helicopter taking off from the far side of the mountain headed towards the train tracks. I deposited the drop and am headed back to you guys for evac," Jack said. Ryan looked at Jeremy.

"That's Dax making his getaway," Jeremy growled and clenched his fists.

"Well good thing we're going after him then!" Geoff said. The group looked at him.

"The Fakes are ending this now! Burnie, can you and the others cover us while we go after him? I believe Mica sent the plan to disable the explosives to you," Geoff explained. Burnie nodded and smiled.

"Gotcha buddy! Don't worry we'll handle things here. C'mon kid let's see how good you are with that sword," he said and smiled at Ninja as the two walked over to Gus and Bruce to tell them the game plan.

"What's the plan Geoff?" Ray asked as Michael, Lindsay, Trevor and Matt walked up.

"We need to meet up with Jack, then I'll explain the rest of the plan. Lindsay, you think you can handle all these chumps while we're gone?" Geoff asked. Lindsay smiled and nodded then hugged Michael goodbye and led B-Team over to Burnie and the others. Ryan checked his weapons to see how much ammo he had and looked over at Jeremy.

"You ready for this? Your first heist with the Crew as a full fledged member!" he asked Jeremy with a smile. Jeremy nodded, a little overwhelmed at the thought of being a member of the most dangerous Crew in Los Santos, even if he was on B-Team.

"Let's fuck some shit up!" he cheered and the group made their way to the exit where Geoff had entered from. Killing the few Inquisitors they encountered the Crew reached the entrance to see Jack waiting for them.

"Hello boys, need a lift?" he chuckled.

"You bet buddy!" Jeremy laughed as the Crew piled in.

"Ray, Jeremy, there are sniper rifles back there that I'm going to need you two to use to cover us from cops or any Inquisitors that take to the sky or roads. Vagabond, I brought you some toys to play with, please try not to kill us with them!" Jack called back as he took off. Jeremy and Ray checked the bag near them and found their sniper rifles, Jeremy cheering at seeing his old weapon again. Ryan looked in the bag near him and the biggest smile he'd ever smiled lighting up his blue eyes, a crazed laugh escaped his lips.

"You okay there buddy?" Michael asked with a smile. Ryan looked up.

"Jack I could kiss you right now you beautiful son of a bitch!" he called.

"Please don't, I don't need facepaint all over me," Jack joked. Ryan reached into the dufflebag and pulled out a rocket launcher and several proximity mines.

"YOU GUYS ARE FUCKED!" Ryan cheered happily out the window.

"Well there goes that murder break," Ray said and smiled. Ryan looked at him.

"Oh that? Yeah I gave up on that a long time ago. Killing is way more fun!" he said causing the entire group to laugh as they flew through the air in pursuit of Dax.


	25. Going Home

Jack flew the cargo-bob expertly, dodging the occasional fire from attacking helicopters or flying rockets from Inquisitors on the ground. Jeremy and Ray made a dangerous team as they took out each enemy with precise marksmanship.

"Ready for part two Ray?" Geoff called back. Ran nodded as he shot another helicopter down out of the sky, the thing spiraling towards the ground to be consumed in a giant fireball. Jack landed a moment later and Ray hopped out.

"You gonna be able to handle it up there?" he winked at Jeremy.

"Hell yeah!" Jeremy smiled back and gave a small salute. Ray exchanged a brief look with Ryan before he hobbled over to the awaiting car parked there where Mica and Andy were ready to drive him to the next spot as Jack lifted them back into the air. Ryan seemed only then to notice his wound.

"When did Ray get shot?" he asked Jeremy concerned. Jeremy looked down.

"In the room when you guys rescued me when the lights went out. I would've said something but he didn't want me to," he said. Ryan frowned and looked at Ray again before nodding.

"You did good. You didn't mess up," he said to Jeremy who looked at him relieved.

"We've got popo!" Michael called looking back.

"On it!" Jeremy called, turning out the side hatch of the cargo-bob and taking aim. The shot was true as the pilot's head exploded and the chopper fell to earth.

"Nice shot Lil' J!" Ryan called.

"Lil' J?" Geoff asked.

"My new nickname evidently," Jeremy said and smiled at Ryan as he remembered the moment when Ryan gave him the new name.

"I like it!" Gavin said and the others agreed. Jeremy continued to fire at any pursuers and ground troops, although he really didn't need to as Ray had taken a handful of proximity mines from Ryan and was dropping them behind their car as it drove, the occasional explosion telling Jeremy that the lad had it covered.

"There he is!"

Jeremy's eyes snapped forward at Gavin's cry and saw the helicopter in the distance. He smiled to himself as he looked through the scope of his sniper.

_I can make the shot!_ he thought to himself. Something stopped him from taking the shot and he looked up and then over at Ryan who was watching him. Jeremy smiled and then turned to the cockpit, knowing the reason he stopped.

"Geoff, I can make the shot!" he said. Geoff looked at him surprised and glanced out the window.

"Ray couldn't even make that shot!" Geoff exclaimed. Jeremy leveled his sniper and looked through the scope again.

"I'm not Ray," he said simply. He heard Geoff laugh.

"Go for it! Take the shot Lil' J!" he said happily. Jeremy smiled and calmed his breathing, the world around him seeming to slow down and all sounds vanished from around him. He was in his element. Lining up the shot he pulled the trigger. The shot was perfect, the bullet completely annihilating the fuselage of the helicopter, the explosion satisfying to the soul. What was left of the helicopter spun out, smoke spewing from it as it sank to the ground in an enormous explosion.

"Holy dicks that was an amazing shot!" Geoff yelled. Gavin and Michael cheered and Ryan smiled proudly at Jeremy and nodded. Jeremy felt a sense of pride swelling in him, that he was doing something right and contributing to the Crew. That's when he noticed it.

"Dammit that fucking son of a whore!" he yelled. Everyone looked at him as he pointed to the parachute that had been opened and was nearing the ground.

"The fucker jumped before his helicopter blew up!" Jeremy said now disappointed. He leveled his rifle at the parachute but he knew he wouldn't be able to hit Dax from this distance, and even if Jack pushed the cargo-bob to its max speed, Dax would've reached the ground by then.

"I'm going to try something!" he shouted and looked through the scope. Slowing his breathing he pulled the trigger, aiming for the parachute. At first nothing happened, and Jeremy assumed that he'd missed. Then he saw a hole in the cute growing bigger and Dax dropping faster to the ground.

"Yeah!" Jeremy cheered and fist pumped the air.

"What happened Lil' J?" Jack asked.

"I shot his parachute near where it connected to the steering strings and the pull from Dax and the wind holding it up made the hole bigger," Jeremy said. Jack and Geoff exchanged looks and nodded.

"Ray, Dax is on foot, are you in position?" Geoff asked into his com.

"Almost boss, nearing the drop point," Ray responded. Geoff scratched his mustache. Turning around he looked at the group.

"Okay, I need Vagabond, Lil' J, and Michael to jump and push Dax towards Ray. We need him alive to answer some questions. Turn him towards the train tracks," Geoff instructed. The three nodded and pulled on their own chutes.

"I'll be seeing you boi!" Gavin said and hugged Michael.

"Team Nice Dynamite for life!" Michael cheered and then leapt out of the cargo-bob, followed by Ryan and Jeremy. Jeremy pulled his chute and glided gently to the ground, Ryan landing several feet to his left and Michael to his right. Shouldering his sniper Jeremy ran in the direction he'd seen Dax disappear in, following Ryan and Michael.

"What do you think Geoff has planned for Dax?" Jeremy asked into his com.

"Who fucking knows? I just hope it ends with the bitch in the ground!" Michael replied.

"I'll be looking forward to squeezing the information out of him," Ryan said darkly. Jeremy grimaced when he remembered that Ryan was the Fakes' torturer and interrogator.

"Okay Mr. Creepy McCreeperson, don't go getting a boner over there," Geoff's voice came through the com causing Jeremy and the other lads to giggle.

"Vagabond the Creepy Guy," Ray's voice came over the com.

"Hey it's an art! Never apologize for art," Ryan said pretending to be hurt. Jeremy laughed and continued on.

"Geoff I've reached the drop point and I've gotta say, you're a beautiful motherfucker!" Ray said.

"What you got down there X-ray?" Gavin asked.

"Oh you'll see soon enough Vav. Dax is fucked!" Ray replied, the smile on his face evident in his voice.

Up ahead Jeremy saw Ryan pause and squat down, examining the ground. Michael cover them as Jeremy looked to see what Ryan was seeing. Jeremy found his eyes wondering to Ryan's ass and he had to shake his head to concentrate on what was happening. Plenty of time for that fantasy later. Footprints from where Dax had been running led off into the forest.

"This way!" Ryan said and led the trio after the tracks.

"When did you learn how to track?" Jeremy asked.

"When I was a kid I lived in the country and learned to track and hunt from an early age. One day some assholes fucked up my dog on our property. Needless to say once I found them, I didn't leave anything for the authorities to find," Ryan explained.

"Now I'm even more terrified of Vagabond than I was before!" Gavin said over the com.

"You're a regular ol John Wick there Vagabond," Michael chuckled.

"Who now?" Jeremy asked. Michael stared at him, actually coming to a full stop for a second.

"Don't tell me you've never seen John Wick!" he exclaimed. Jeremy shook his head.

"Didn't have time to watch movies much growing up, too busy learning the trade of criminal life," he said.

"Geoff, as soon as this shits over we're sitting Jeremy down and watching the fuck out of John Wick!" Michael said into his com.

"I'm down!" Geoff voice came.

"That movie helped me with some tricks when I first started out with my art," Ryan said feeling a bit nostalgic.

"You really worry me sometimes Vagabond," Michael said. The group laughed and the trio kept following the tracks. Jeremy spotted movement up ahead after a minute or two.

"Guys, eleven o'clock," he warned and pointed. Ryan nodded and silently slipped off into the darkness to the right, Michael going up the middle and Jeremy following behind. The group wanted to herd Dax to the left towards the train tracks. Jeremy heard a gunshot and then footfalls headed towards him. Another shot, this one from Michael and the footfalls rushed off to Jeremy's left, the lad sending his own warning shot to encourage the movement.

"Keep up the pressure boys, we got him where we want him!" Ryan's voice called and the trio pushed forward, sending shots at Dax to keep him moving in the direction they wanted him to move. Something didn't feel right to Jeremy.

_He's too smart NOT to know we're pushing him towards something._ he thought as he continued.

"Hey guys, does something feel off to you?" he asked quietly into the com.

"Yeah, it seems almost too easy," Michael said.

"Taking all the fun out of the hunt the little fuck!" Ryan growled and Jeremy giggled.

"You don't think...that he wants us to push him towards the tracks do you?" Michael asked. Ryan commed Geoff and explained their suspicions.

"Even if he is planning on you turning him that way, he has no clue what we've got in store for him. Keep it up!" Geoff voice came back. Ryan shrugged and the group continued to push Dax closer towards the tracks, Jeremy's anxiety building ever step. Finally they burst out onto a road with the tracks on the other side. Dax was standing there panting, staring at the group with wild eyes. Jeremy knew those eyes well, they were the eyes of a desperate hunted animal that knew its time had come and was ready for the last fight.

"Dax!" Jeremy growled. The man smiled crazily at them, hysteric laughter beginning to bubble up in his throat.

"I was creating an empire, a new start!" he cackled.

"By killing everyone..." Michael pointed out. Dax snarled at him.

"By killing all of you! All you assholes who think you run this town and can get away with everything while those of us who are trying to make an honest living suffer because of you!" Dax's voice was cracking with restrained anger.

"Anyone else see the double standard here?" Jeremy asked.

"To defeat your enemy, you must first understand your enemy," Dax said with a smile.

_He knows something..._ Jeremy thought, unease creeping back into his heart. Suddenly the squeal of tires sounded farther down the road and all eyes turned to see a car speeding towards them.

"Looks like my ride's here!" Dax cheered sounding almost relieved.

"Vagabond!" Michael yelled and ducked, Ryan already whipping out his rocket launcher and smiling evilly as he took a knee and aimed. Jeremy noticed Dax moving and quickly aimed his pistol and fired. The man screamed in pain as the bullet knocked the gun out of his hand he'd been aiming at Ryan. Without looking up Ryan fired the rocket at the car. The vehicle exploded and the three jumped out of the way to avoid the wreckage careening towards them. Jeremy looked up to see Dax running onto the train tracks.

"Guys he's getting away!" he warned as he leapt to his feet and shouldered his sniper. He was about to take the shot when Ryan gently pushed the barrel down, shaking his head when Jeremy looked up at him confused.

"Take him alive remember?" he said. Jeremy sighed and nodded as they took off after Dax. The sound of a train horn blowing reached their ears and they spotted the train up ahead beginning to move.

"Shit he's going to hop on the train!" Michael yelled and quickened his pace. Jeremy saw Dax grab hold of the train and begin climbing the ladder to the top.

"Geoff he's on the train headed south!" Ryan said into his mic as the three of them hopped aboard the last train car and began climbing to the top, Michael being the first and peeking his head over the top first to check for danger.

"Perfect! Ray get ready!" Geoff voice replied. Ryan and Jeremy exchanged looks of confusion but they shrugged it off and the three ran atop the train car following Dax who was awkwardly leaping from car to car.

"Vagabond he's too far ahead, were not going to catch up with him," Jeremy pointed out. Ryan nodded but ran on, clearing the gap between their train car and the next, rolling with the landing.

Suddenly the sounds of sirens approaching from ahead. Jeremy groaned and turned aiming his rifle, readying himself for a fight with the cops.

"Ray are you in position?" Geoff asked. There wasn't a response at first, only the sounds of the cops approaching. Jeremy spotted a few of the red and blue lights gaining on the train and leveled his rifle at them, ready to take the shot. Then suddenly there was a loud crunching metallic sound and one of the lights blinked out.

"What the fuck was that?" Michael asked from farther up ahead looking back. Jeremy frowned and looked through his scope. At the same time he saw it Ray's voice came over the com.

"'Scuse me, pardon me," he said in a voice that sounded bored and humored at the same time. Jeremy began to laugh as the crunching sounds continued.

"Is that a bloody tank behind the train?!" Gavin asked.

"Absolutely it is!" Ray replied and smiled as he ran over another cop car. Jeremy and the others laughed. Jeremy turned and followed after Ryan and Michael who'd continued after Dax while Jeremy covered them from the cops. Ryan and Michael had just caught up to him and were now facing the trapped man, Jeremy jumping the last train car to join them a second later.

"Give up Dax! There's nowhere for you to go. You've lost. You're coming with us!" Michael growled, gripping his handgun at his side, ready to use it if need be. Dax looked around like a trapped animal, desperate for an escape.

"Fat chance kid! I go with you, I sign my death warrant. I'll take my chances!" Dax said and looked like he was about to jump off the tracks. Suddenly there was a shot and Dax crumpled to the roof of the train car howling in pain. Ryan looked back surprised and saw that Jeremy had leveled his pistol at Dax and shot the man in the kneecap.

"Damn it Jeremy!" Ryan said startled. Jeremy smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"He looked like he was gonna jump. Had to stop him somehow and this whole 'take him alive' shit is still a thing," Jeremy said.

"It's not that, leave some of him for me!" Ryan chuckled and the two laughed.

"You motherfuckers scare the shit out of me sometimes," Geoff said over the coms.

"Guys, there's a tunnel coming up. I won't be able to follow you through it and Mica just told me there's a shit ton of cops on the other side waiting. Get off the train now!" Ray's voice came over the coms. Jeremy looked up and saw the tunnel approaching fast.

"The trains going too fast! We'd get splattered across the ground!" he said growing panicked as he looked around for a solution.

"We've got to slow the train down!" Gavin said.

"I got an idea!" Ray said. Jeremy waited and raised an eyebrow as the tank accelerated and got up beside them. Without warning Ray fired the cannon and hit the entrance of the tunnel, causing it to collapse. The train slammed on its breaks sending Ryan, Jeremy, and Michael sprawling to the roof.

"Jump!" Ray yelled. Michael jumped and landed on top of the train. Ryan grabbed the moaning Dax by the collar and threw the man down to Michael before jumping himself. Jeremy stood to his feet and was just about to jump when the train slammed on the breaks again, throwing him off balance as he jumped.

Jeremy felt the ground beneath him fall away and saw the terror in Michael's eyes as he watched the lad thrown from the train. He knew he was going to miss the tank, most likely he would be sucked under the train or tank treads or be crushed in the gap between the two.

_Well fuck! After all that's happened, THIS is how I die? Dammit!_ he thought as he fell. He reached out a hand, desperate to catch onto something even though he knew it was futile.

Suddenly he felt something snag his arm and pull. Looking up he saw Ryan had reached out and had just snagged him by the arm before he neared the deadly collision with the ground and the fate of being crushed by the tank and train.

"You're not leaving me that easily!" he said and began to pull Jeremy up the side of the tank. Jeremy helped the best he could and soon he was kneeling safely on the top of the tank. Ryan wrapped him in a hug and held him tightly.

"Thank you," Jeremy whispered in Ryan's ear and he began to shake a little in fear at what just happened. Ryan nodded, too choked up to say anything.

"Let's get this asshole back to basecamp!" Michael said after a minute and Ray directed the tank in the direction Geoff guided them too, all the while Ryan would not let go of Jeremy's hand, rubbing reassuring circles into the back of it. When the cargo-bob landed the trio stood and jumped to the ground, Michael shoving Dax off into Geoff's hands where he was quickly bound and then with a nod from Geoff, Ryan knocked the man out with a single punch.

"Ray, get back to the mountain and help Lindsay and the others, we'll direct you guys from base on how to defuse the explosives. We'll need you there to help cover the group," Geoff said. Ray saluted and with a last knowing look at Ryan shut the hatch door and drove the tank back to Mount Chilliad.

"C'mon chaps!" Gavin called from the cargo-bob. Geoff shoved Dax's limp unconscious body into a seat and strapped him in. Ryan looked at Jeremy and smiled.

"Let's go home Lil' J," he said. Jeremy looked down at the hand holding his and smiled back. He looked up into Ryan's blue eyes and nodded.


	26. The Way He Looks at You

Jeremy must have dozed off on the ride home because the next thing he knew he was waking up on a cot in a strange building. He sat up and looked around, startled at first but then he relaxed when he saw Gavin and Michael asleep on cots on the opposite wall, their gentle snores reaching his ears. He stood and stretched, checking the time on his phone. He'd been asleep for two hours, not a bad nap. He looked around and saw that he was in a warehouse, similar to the one Ryan had found him in but not as big. He wondered around until he found Jack at a wet bar that had been installed, probably for Geoff's benefit, and smiled as he approached the large man.

"Hey Jack," he said as he stood in front of the counter. Jack looked up from the folder he was gazing at and smiled at Jeremy.

"Hi Jeremy, finally awake I see! Damn you were out!" he said and chuckled. Jeremy laughed too and asked for some water, knowing that now probably wasn't the best time to drink alcohol, since the group would probably be getting back to work soon.

"What happened? Where are we? Last thing I remember is getting on the cargo-bob," Jeremy asked as he drank. Jack chuckled.

"You really were out. We're in one of our safe houses back in the city. Or rather, the outskirts of the city. When we landed you were leaned up against Vagabond's shoulder. He carried you in and laid you down on the cot," Jack explained smiling widely as Jeremy blushed deeply and looked down at his water, smiling himself.

"So, where're Ry...Vagabond and Geoff?" Jeremy asked almost saying Ryan's real name. Jack looked at him for a second before responding.

"They're getting the prisoner prepped for interrogation," he said softly. Jeremy snapped to attention.

_Already?_ he thought. He got the feeling that Jack wasn't a hundred percent on board with the plan but never would question Geoff. Even though he'd seen the group interacting once, he understood how they thought. They looked up to Geoff and followed his lead, knowing he'd do whatever was best for them.

"Where?" he asked simply. Jack nodded towards a door on the opposite wall and looked back down at the file, indicating he didn't want to talk anymore. Jeremy made his way to the door and walked out into the sunlight. Apparently dawn hadn't been that far off when they'd escaped from Mount Chilliad and captured Dax. He saw Ryan and Geoff talking next to a car, Ryan occasionally reaching into the trunk and examining something. Jeremy made his way to them.

"Need some help?" he asked. Geoff and Ryan exchanged glances and then Geoff sighed.

"I'll let you handle this Vagabond, I need a drink. Don't start without me," he said and walked away, Ryan grunting his response, and pat Jeremy's shoulder as he passed and smiled at the kid. "You did a good job today Lil' J!" he said. Jeremy smiled and thanked Geoff. After his boss had left Jeremy turned to Ryan.

"So...now what?" he asked. Ryan looked down at the tool he was holding, a curved metal cylindrical rod that was flat and sharp at the end.

"Dax is tied up in the shed over there. I need to get some info out of him. I don't want you in there Jeremy, when I begin," he said quietly.

"What? Why not?" Jeremy asked confused. Ryan sighed and looked into Jeremy's eyes, pain hidden in his own blue ones behind his mask.

"Because I become a different person when I'm in interrogation mode. You've never experienced it or seen it and I want it to remain that way, at least for now. I don't want you to see that part of me just yet," he said firmly. Jeremy stared but nodded, understanding why Ryan didn't want that aspect of his life known to the lad.

"I'll tell you when to leave and come back. You don't have to do the questioning, Geoff and I can handle that," Ryan continued. He turned and continued to pull tools and assorted torture looking devices out of the trunk. Jeremy watched and then cleared his throat gaining the man's attention.

"Back there, when you saved me...again, I felt something. Something...I don't know what, but I just know it happened when you held me and looked at me like you were trying to memorize what I looked like, as if you were so afraid of losing me. I wanted to thank you and say that no one has ever looked at me like that before," he said awkwardly as he tried to verbalize the thoughts in his head. Ryan smiled under his mask and thanked God that it hid his blushing cheeks, but then shook his head.

"Jeremy, I can't think about this right now. If I'm thinking about you and my feelings for you I won't get my job done. I'll be too distracted," he said in a gentle voice. Jeremy looked up at him a look of joy crossing his face.

"You have feelings for me?" he asked. Ryan smiled and pulled Jeremy into a hug.

"We'll talk after okay? I promise," he said and then with a final squeeze he released Jeremy and gathered up his tools, turned to the shed, and walked towards it. Jeremy was frozen in place, warmth building up in his chest and cheeks.

_Ryan likes me!_ he thought excitedly as he scurried to follow after.

Ryan pushed open the door roughly and went inside, Jeremy a step behind him. The room was dark, barely lit by a small window high up on the wall. There was a chair in the middle of the room where Dax was sat, tied at the ankles, knees, chest and arms, his hands bound to the arms of the chair. He had a cloth tied between his teeth, keeping him silent, not bringing any attention to the shed or the safe house. Jeremy hung back near the door and crossed his arms as Ryan approached Dax. Jeremy shivered, almost feeling the hate and danger coming from Ryan. But it wasn't a shiver of fear, and that worried him slightly.

Because it was a shiver of excitement and anticipation.

~~~  
~~~

"What do you think of him?" Geoff looked up at the question, meeting Jack's brown eyes that were peering at him questioningly. The two friends were sitting on either side of the bar in the warehouse, Gavin and Michael's obnoxious snores growing louder.

"Who?" Geoff asked as he raised his glass to his lips and took a drink of his beer.

"Dooley. He did well today, better than I ever imagined he'd be. But you're the boss, I want your opinions of him," he said. Geoff looked at Jack and smiled.

"I think we should put him on a few more missions, see what he really can do before we make a final decision. He's only been on B-Team for what? Barely a week? But I know what you mean and I'm leaning towards it. I just want to be sure," he said. Jack smiled too and took a drink of his water.

"He's a good kid Geoff. I'm glad he's on our side," he said. Geoff nodded and then smiled.

"I don't think the Crew is the only reason he joined," he chuckled. Jack looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? How do you mean?" he asked knowing full well what Geoff meant but wanting to hear him say it. Geoff mockingly glared at Jack but continued.

"It seems that someone's caught his eye," he said simply and Jack smiled, nodding his understanding and the two laughed and clinked their glasses together.

"They're not very subtle about it," Jack laughed as he drank and Geoff agreed.

"Who's not subtle about wot?" Gavin asked walking over, Michael following close behind, still limping slightly but doing much better.

"Oh nothing. Did y'all have a nice rest?" Jack asked quickly changing the subject. Michael narrowed his eyes but said nothing as Gavin smiled and nodded with a yawn.

"Definitely! After today I could sleep for a month!" he said.

"That'd keep you quiet for once," Michael muttered causing the group to laugh.

"Micoo!" Gavin wined but shared a smile with his fellow lad.

"Vagabond already torturing the prisoner?" Michael asked a moment later. Geoff shook his head.

"Not without me he isn't!" he said before hurrying out the door to join Ryan and Jeremy.

"First off, he's questioning him before that, secondly the prisoner has a name," Jack said, turning and glaring at the lad. Michael shrugged.

"Not for long he doesn't," he muttered. Jack shivered at the thought and tried not to think about what was happening to Dax.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan stood in the shed at a small table near Dax and laid out his tools while he waited for Geoff to return. Dax watched him, worry crossing his face which only fueled Ryan's pleasure. He was happy the man was scared, he fed off of his victims' fear whenever he tortured or killed them. Seeing Dax afraid was just making his day better, especially after all the shit he'd put the Crew through. He chuckled darkly to himself when Dax flinched at the sight of a small hacksaw.

"You're right to be afraid. Please feel free to give me a reason to slowly flay the skin from your body and make a suit out of it," he said in a flat dead tone. He was in his element and he felt so alive! Dax whimpered and Jeremy shivered. It was weird seeing Ryan this way, but he found the situation exhilarating. He'd seen on the news the results of some of Ryan's interrogations. Geoff walked in a moment later and after a glance and raised eyebrow at Jeremy he walked over and pulled up another chair, plopping it down, backrest in front of Dax and sat down, crossing his arms over the back of the chair and resting his chin on his arms, gazing at Dax as if bored with the whole charade. After a moment of staring he lazily looked over at Ryan.

"Take his thumbs," he simply said. Jeremy cringed as Dax screamed in fright and struggled as Ryan nodded and grabbed a rather sharp looking knife and walked over to Dax and grabbed his hand to begin sawing off the man's thumbs. Dax pleaded through his gag and Geoff held up a hand, staying Ryan from mutilating the man. Geoff raised an eyebrow.

"You ready to talk?" he asked. Dax nodded furiously and did his best to shrink away from Ryan. Geoff signaled Ryan who pouted but followed orders and walked back to stand beside Geoff. Geoff pulled the gag out of Dax's mouth and smiled.

"Good boy. See how easy that was? No need to resort to rash behavior right?" he said in the most fake friendly voice Jeremy had ever heard. Dax nodded.

"W..what do you want to k..know?" he trembled. Geoff turned to Ryan and smiled.

"That's what I like to hear. Straight to the point. No needless bullshit or back and forth banter," he said and gestured to Dax as Ryan grunted and crossed his arms. Jeremy watched intently as Geoff turned back to Dax.

"Now, tell me why a dickhead like you kidnapped my men and invaded my home, attacking my Crew," Geoff said darkly. Jeremy nervously looked over to Ryan who also exchanged a glance with him. They both knew the reason, and they both knew the answer would crush Geoff. Jeremy thought fast and then coughed into his fist. Geoff glared back at him. He walked over to the new recruit and crossed his arms as he glared down at Jeremy.

"Yes?" he asked sarcastically. Jeremy trembled as he addressed his new boss, knowing that he shouldn't get on Geoff's bad side.

"Might I suggest asking him how to disable all the explosives first since we're sorta short on time?" he asked quietly so only Geoff could hear, keeping his eyes down. Geoff stared at Jeremy for a minute and the lad hoped he hadn't fucked up. But the gent nodded and turned and walked back to Dax.

"Scratch that question, tell me how to stop your ticking time bomb under the mountain," he said. Dax glanced back at Jeremy who looked away uncomfortably before answering.

"There's a kill switch. If it's disabled than all the detonators in the explosives short circuit," he said. Geoff smiled.

"Where is said kill switch then?" he asked impatiently. Dax seemed to gain some of his bravery back and smugly looked at Geoff.

"Why should I tell you asshole? You're just going to sick your dog over there on me!" he snarled gesturing to Ryan. Jeremy tensed up and felt anger rising in him. How dare he speak of Ryan that way! He was a human being! Ryan didn't seem to care about the insult, rather chuckling at the name instead which threw Jeremy off. Geoff glared at Dax.

"Because if you don't tell us, I'll stake you down to the top of the mountain myself and leave you there for the firework show," he growled darkly. Dax paled and Geoff felt a small tinge of satisfaction from the fear in his prisoner's eyes at the threat.

_He knows I'll fucking do it too! I didn't become the kingpin of this city based off empty threats!_ Geoff thought.

"In my office. The kill switch is on my computer and will electronically disable or detonate the charges," Dax said in surrender. Geoff frowned and stood up straighter.

"Disable OR detonate? Which one is it jerkoff?" he asked. Dax chuckled and looked up.

"Don't take the fun out of it Ramsey, after all you have one of the best hackers in your Crew. It'll be a surprise!" he said. Geoff sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"I hate surprises. But if it's as easy as all that it shouldn't take too long," he thought aloud. Jeremy noticed a slight twitch of Dax's lips at the statement, a small hidden smile there one second and gone in an instant, almost undetected but the sniper's eye was sharp and quick.

"He knows something else," Jeremy said, this time aloud as he crossed his own arms and put on his best glowering face. Geoff and Ryan glanced at him.

"And the traitor speaks! What makes you think that I know anything else little man?" Dax snarled. Jeremy smiled.

"You give yourself away, I don't miss anything with these eagle eyes," he said and tapped the side of his face near his eyes. Dax glared at him but said nothing.

"What else is there?" Geoff demanded turning back to his prisoner. Dax remained silent, starring at Jeremy, hate in his eyes. Ryan looked as if he were about to hit Dax, he wanted to so badly. Wanted to hit him for the way he looked at Jeremy, wanted to hurt him for all the pain he'd caused the Crew, wanted to make him suffer because that's what he deserved.

_The fucker doesn't deserve to live, kill him!_ he heard a voice say in his head.

_It's not the time for that. Later we can deal with him in the proper ways!_ he heard his own voice say in response in his head.

"Well I guess we'll pick this up later. Just sit tight till I come back," Geoff said and pulled the gag back up into Dax's mouth and tightened it before turning and leaving, Ryan and Jeremy following behind, Ryan taking his tools. As Jeremy was exiting he glanced back at Dax and saw the most evil look on the man's face he'd ever seen in his life. Chills ran up his spine as he closed and locked the door behind him.

Walking inside he was met by a very angry Geoff who turned on him and pointed a finger threateningly at him.

"Do not, EVER tell me how to fucking do my job again!" Geoff growled. Jeremy raised his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

"Whoa Geoff easy buddy! I don't want to do that, far from it," he said and took a step back. Something bumped into his back and he yelped and jumped, turning to see Ryan standing behind him. He wasn't looking at Jeremy but at Geoff. Slowly he put one hand on Jeremy's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze before speaking.

"We need to talk Geoff," he said. Geoff looked between the two and rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up into the air and storming off to a small room that Jeremy guessed was an office or meeting room of sorts. He looked up at Ryan.

"I'm sorry I messed everything up," he started.

"You didn't. Geoff's just under a lot of stress right now. Just give him some space and try not to piss him off again," Ryan said and winked as he walked towards the room, preparing himself for what he would say to Geoff.

_Why is it that this is the hardest and most painful thing I've ever done?_ he thought as he walked into the room and closed the door.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy sat on his cot, head in hands. He'd barely been a sub member of the Fakes for a week and already he was fucking things up. It's not that he was intentionally doing it or trying to get on Geoff's bad side, he just wanted to protect the Crew. He just didn't seem to be getting the hang of gang life.

"It was a lot less complicated when I was a Freelancer," he muttered to himself.

"Wot was lad?"

Jeremy looked up at the voice and saw that Michael and Gavin had joined him, each either sitting or standing near him. Jeremy glanced from one to another before sighing.

"I guess I'm just not a good fit for gang life, let alone life in the best crew in the city," he said sadly. The lads exchanged glances.

"Hey asshole, get up. We got something to show you," Michael said and turned and began limping away before Jeremy could say anything. Gavin smiled and grabbed Jeremy's hands and pulled him to his feet, dragging him after Michael. The two led Jeremy up some stairs to the second floor of the warehouse and to a room with a giant flatscreen TV. There was an Xbox hooked up to it and Michael fired it up.

"What're you doing?" Jeremy asked as Michael turned on three controllers. Gavin shoved Jeremy onto the couch in the room and plopped down beside him, Michael tossing both lads a controller.

"Cheering you up asshole now get ready cause it's Mogar time!" Michael said and fired up Halo. Jeremy was confused but the game called for his attention so he went at it with all he had. Soon all three lads were laughing and joking, yelling and cursing as the game continued and the shenanigans got better and better. Finally the game ended and the trio sat back laughing. Then Michael looked at Jeremy and grew serious.

"Don't you ever say that you don't belong here or fit in Lil' J. We all make mistakes, we're humans it's bound to happen eventually. You're still new and getting used to the whole group dynamic, and getting used to all of us. But it's okay to mess up, god knows we've had our share of fuck ups," he said. Jeremy frowned and looked as if he didn't believe Michael.

"It's true lad! We all make mistakes. Not even four months ago I screwed up a hacking job and nearly got Jack and Micoo here killed. Geoff led us on a heist he was sure was foolproof but missed something and it almost ended in disaster. Ray shot Vagabond his first week here because some tip came through that he was a mole. Hell, even Vagabond himself makes mistakes," Gavin chimed in. Michael and he exchanged a glance at that, remembering the incident long ago that changed Ray and made the Vagabond more closed off than before. Jeremy knew what they were thinking about but didn't bring it up.

"The point is, if making mistakes in our first few days of working for the Crew means we shouldn't be here, then none of us would be here. We're not perfect and flawless like some people think. Remember that Lil' J. You do belong here. You just gotta give it some time," Michael finished. Jeremy looked from one lad to another before smiling and nodding.

"Thanks guys, I really needed that!" he said. The other lads smiled.

"Good. Now shut the fuck up and let's get back to the game!" Michael said and started another round, Gavin squawking in surprise and diving for his controller, all three beginning to laugh again. Jeremy felt much better now.

~~~  
~~~

"You wanted to talk so fucking talk!" Geoff snapped as he crossed his arms. He was sitting in a chair in the smaller room he and Ryan had walked into, his office in the building. Ryan stood there looking at him in silence.

"First of all, don't take your anger out on Lil' J. He's still new and is bound to make some mistakes, don't be too hard on him," Ryan began. Geoff scoffed but said nothing.

"Secondly, there's something you need to know. The reason Jeremy interrupted you back there. There's a very specific reason why everything that happened to the Crew happened, and you don't need to be hearing it from some asshole like Dax. You need to hear it from Ray," Ryan said, his voice nearly catching in his throat as he said the words. They were some of the hardest things he'd ever had to say, and seeing Geoff's face cut him deeper than the words.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Geoff asked, a look of shock and confusion on his face. Ryan shook his head and held back his emotions.

"Like I said, talk to Ray about it. It's not my place to say. He knows you'll be expecting a talk from him. Just please don't pull your usual shit and explode. Just listen to what he has to say and then make the call," Ryan said.

"Vagabond...Ryan, you're scaring me. What happened?" Geoff asked, and for a moment Ryan saw the scared teen again in Geoff's eyes. He shook his head and took off his mask.

"Talk to Ray after we deal with this mess. But know that whatever you decide, whatever choice you make, I'll follow your lead. I may not agree with you and may fight your decision, but you are the leader and I will follow. And don't make a habit of using my name," he said and winked. Geoff swallowed hard and nodded.

"If what Jeremy said was true, Dax still has information for us that we need to get out of him. Are you ready, Vagabond?" he asked. Ryan closed his eyes and allowed a smiled to creep on to his face. He pulled his mask back on and looked at Geoff.

"Hell the fuck yes!" he said.

~~~  
~~~

Geoff and Ryan made their way out of the room at the same time the lads were walking down the stairs, all laughing. Ryan's heart leapt and he blushed at the sound of Jeremy's sweet laughter, a laugh he never thought would work it's way into his heart. The lads approached and Ryan shook the feelings away.

_Now's not the time to be thinking about him. Concentrate on your job so no one else gets hurt._ he heard in his head. He saw Geoff pull Jeremy aside and he offered the lad a comforting look through his mask.

"What've you three been up to?" he asked the other two lads. Michael and Gavin laughed and looked at each other.

"We've just been cheering Jeremy up. Kid's pretty tough on himself," Michael said. Ryan nodded.

"Up until now he's never had to work with a group unless it was little jobs. He's used to following his rules and keeping himself alive. He'll get used to crew life soon enough," Ryan said.

Geoff scratched the back of his head awkwardly and looked at the newest member of his team, who shuffled uncomfortably. He cleared his throat and saw Jeremy look up at him.

"Listen Lil' J, I'm sorry I snapped at you back there. There's a lot going on and it's a lot to deal with. But as your boss I shouldn't take it out on you," Geoff said. Jeremy looked relieved and smiled.

"I shouldn't have spoken up. It wasn't my place to tell you how to do your job, even if that wasn't my intent I was still wrong. Guess I'm just used to working on my own. I'll do better next time," Jeremy apologized as well.

"You're already doing so well, I'm really pleased with your performance so far. Keep it up and maybe one day you'll have a spot in the main Crew," Geoff said and winked. Jeremy's jaw dropped and he felt his heart leap.

"Y..you mean that?" he asked shocked.

"Of course I do. I'm the boss after all," he said and smiled, the two laughing. As Geoff walked away to make a call before returning to interrogating Dax, Jeremy smiled as he sat down on his cot.

_A spot on the main Crew! Me! A part of the Crew I've always admired and looked up to, who inspired me._ he thought, his heart lifting at the thought. He looked up and saw Ryan smiling at him and gave the gent a thumbs up. Ryan chuckled and returned the gesture before walking outside with Geoff. He scurried to follow and was just walking out the door when Ryan turned to him.

"Not this time Jeremy. It's about to get ugly, and I'd rather you not be there for this part," he said. Jeremy frowned and looked like he was about to argue when Ryan leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"I don't like the way he was looking at you the entire time," he said. Jeremy froze and looked at Ryan worriedly but nodded. Ryan put a hand on Jeremy's shoulder and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze before turning and walking after Geoff, Jeremy watching as the man he had a crush on disappeared behind the closing door.


	27. Return to Chilliad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! Interrogation torture scenes in this chapter. Be warned.

Ryan hit Dax again, enjoying the sound of his fist meeting flesh and then blood that spewed from Dax's mouth and nose. He and Geoff had been questioning the prisoner for a good hour now, squeezing as much information out of him as they could. Still no progress was made on the suspicions Jeremy had.

"I can make him stop you know. Make him stop hurting you. Just tell us more about this kill switch," Geoff said from where he stood leaning against the wall. Dax spat blood onto the floor and glared at the kingpin through a black eye.

"Fuck you Fake! I'd rather see you all burn in hell!" he snarled. Geoff sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Vagabond, I'll leave you two alone for a bit. Have some fun but leave him alive so he can answer our questions," he said and turned and walked out the door, the sounds of Dax whimpering and Ryan's twisted mad laughter following him as he shut the shed door. Ryan smiled down at Dax wickedly.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said, voice hollow and void of emotion. Dax glared at Ryan before a slow smile crept onto his face.

"I'm going to get out of this dog! And when I do I'm going to hurt you in ways you can't imagine!" he growled. Ryan laughed, an actual genuine laugh. He looked at Dax with humor in his eyes.

"Oh? And prey tell how do you plan to do that meat sack?" he asked. Dax smiled.

"You love him don't you? I've seen the way you look at him. Be a shame if something were to happen to him," he said looking intently at Ryan with a victorious smile. Ryan felt his blood drain and he felt cold all of a sudden.

_Is he talking about Jeremy?_ he thought.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said evenly trying to calm down even as the red started to build up around his eyes.

"Our little friend. He seems to have caught your eye. It'll be fun breaking him down bit by bit and letting him suffer while he watches all of you die. Pity really that he got caught up with all of you, he could've had a more safe and full life," Dax said smiling. Ryan tried to compose himself but he was slowly losing control.

_Don't lose control. Don't let him get to you! If they get in your head they win and have power over you!_ Ryan herd the voice in his head say.

"I'm going to enjoy hearing him scream when you die. And who knows, maybe I'll have a bit of fun with him myself before I decide what to do with him. What was his name again? Jeremy!" Dax sneered and leaned forward.

Ryan closed his eyes tight, fighting back the red, but at the sound of Jeremy's name on Dax's lips, he lost it. He opened his eyes again and the voice that had previously been reasoning with him only said one thing.

_Kill!_

With a roar he punched Dax in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He walked over to the table and brought back a pair of pliers and a sharp knife. He watched as Dax's face contorted into a confused terror as Ryan grabbed one of the struggling man's hands. He looked into Dax's eyes and smiled at the fear there.

"Don't ever say his name again!" Ryan said flatly and ripped one of Dax's fingernails up and off from his index finger, twisting it as he did. The man howled in pain. Ryan smiled and a hysteric crazed laugh escaped him, mixing with the screams of his captive.

All he saw was red.

~~~  
~~~

Geoff never stuck around for Ryan's interrogations, the sight upsetting to his stomach. He was just glad that Ryan was on his side and not against him. He recalled a time long ago when he, Ryan and Jack had had normal, or at least somewhat normal, lives. He and Ryan had it worse than Jack, the gent having a father who was abusive to his mom. Jack's teen years were spent watching his father beat his mom, and when he finally couldn't take it anymore and stepped in to defend her, it wasn't pretty. Ryan probably had the most normal childhood out of all of them, growing up on a farm just outside the city with stable parents. Geoff still didn't understand where Ryan's wild and violent side came from, but when the Vagabond was a young teen he'd found and murdered men who'd killed his dog. Then hell fell upon the Haywood home. Ryan was about fifteen at the time and had been working out in the barn when he'd heard the noises coming from his house. Racing to the door he'd just gotten there in time to see a group of four men beating his father while three more were dragging his mother off screaming into another room. Without thinking the lad had given in to whatever darkness was ebbing at his mind and snapped. From what Geoff could get out of him, he'd killed every person in the house, but was unable to save his parents in time. He'd been welding at the time and still had the mask on, Geoff guessed this was one reason why he always wore his mask.

Geoff's story was very different. His father had abused him and beat him till he was six years old and then dumped him at an orphanage. The staff there didn't care about him and let anything slide, the boy growing up having to look over his shoulder ever five seconds in fear. One night when Geoff had been on his way back from visiting Jack he'd been pulled into and ally and beaten by some thugs. They were about to kill him because he didn't have any money on him when there was a low snarling coming from the ally entrance. They'd all looked and dropped Geoff to the ground at the sight. Geoff had passed out as soon as the screams had started. When he woke up his entire body hurt and he could barely see, but what he saw made him wretch. The thugs were lying on the ground in pieces, their blood being washed away in the rain. He looked up and saw a boy not much younger than him standing there watching him and he instinctively curled into a ball and whimpered. The kids eyes were a brilliant blue and were set hard, but when he saw Geoff's reaction he softened and held out a hand.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you, and they won't either anymore," he'd said. Geoff had slowly and hesitantly taken the hand and allowed the kid to help him up. The kid ended up being Ryan and the two became friends. Ryan always stood up for Geoff and defended him when he needed help, and Jack always encouraged him. The three had parted ways when they'd all reached their twenties but had reunited later when Geoff and Jack had formed the FAHC, Ryan being the first person Geoff sought out to add to their gang. He'd been hesitant at first and even had flatout refused, but eventually Ryan came around and joined. He told Geoff that his real name was never to be uttered by any of them without his permission, only revealing it to Geoff and Ray.

Geoff shook his head and continued walking back to the warehouse. This wasn't the time to think about the past. He needed to concentrate on what was happening now with his boys and how to stop the mountain in their city from exploding. As he walked in he saw Jeremy spin around at the bar counter where he'd been talking to Jack and look at him quizzically.

"Nothing yet, but if I know the Vagabond, he'll get the information out of him," Geoff said with a tired smile. Jeremy just nodded.

"Any updates from Lindsay or Ray on what's going on at Chilliad?" Geoff asked. Jack shook his head and gave a worried look.

"Nothing. We need to do something Geoff, and fast. Times running out," he said.

"We have to give Vagabond more time to get the information we need. He'll get it Jack, you know he will. We just have to give him time," Geoff said but looked equally as worried. Jeremy looked between the two and thought furiously of ways to help.

"Dax said that the kill switch was on his computer right?" he asked. Geoff nodded.

"Well the computer is passcode locked and I'm sure the kill switch is locked too and is buried deep, hard to find unless Dax was looking for it. But it might add some extra time if we had a hacker try to find it," Jeremy continued, pacing now as he thought aloud.

"That could work," Jack said slowly.

"I hacked into his computer once before! I could do it again and try to find the file!" Jeremy said excitedly.

"Oi! Wot about me?"

The group turned to see Gavin standing there crossing his arms, Michael behind him. The Fake's Golden Boy didn't look happy.

"Or Gavin could. It wasn't too hard to get in so it should be no problem for him," Jeremy quickly recovered.

"Aww thanks lad!" Gavin said happily and smiled at the compliment as the rest of the crew rolled their eyes.

"The problem is that Dax said the kill switch could deactivate OR detonate the explosives and that's what we're waiting on Vagabond for," Geoff said. The group was silent for a moment.

"So you guys want to go back?" Jack asked. Jeremy hesitated but nodded.

"If it helps I'm willing," he said. The other Lads agreed as well. Geoff was about to say something when the door slammed open, causing the group to jump. They all turned to see Ryan standing there covered in blood as he wiped his hands.

"Fucker passed out on me but I got the info. I know where the kill switch is!" he said triumphantly. Geoff looked at the faces of his boys, saw the determination in their eyes and was filled with pride.

"Well boys, I guess we're the good guys now. Let's go save the fucking city!" he said.

"Hell yeah!" Jeremy cheered and fist pumped. Ryan looked at Jeremy and a very bad feeling began creeping up inside of him. Something he was unused to feeling clawed at his heart.

Fear

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy glanced at Ryan sitting beside him in the Cargo bob. The man hadn't said a word since he'd returned from his interrogation other than to report his success. Jeremy was worried about him and wondered what he could do to help.

_It wasn't anything I did or said was it?_ he thought.

As if reading his mind Michael nudged him from his other side.

"Don't bother, he always gets that way after shredding some fucker up. He'll come around in a bit but he's just gotta do his thing. He'll be okay I promise," he whispered to Jeremy. The lad nodded but gave Ryan another nervous glance. Without thinking Jeremy gently placed his hand on Ryan's knee for a moment and then removed it. Ryan gave him a sideways glance and very small nod.

_I just want you to know that I'm here for you buddy._ Jeremy thought. Ryan went back to his thinking, the voices in his head practically screaming.

_You're letting your feelings for Jeremy distract you! You need to focus._

_What exactly are my feelings for him come to think of it?_

_You know you love him. Why can't you just admit it?_

_How do you know that's what you really feel and not those weird enchiladas you had the other night?_

Ryan shook his head trying to quiet his voices, but the more he thought about it the more it bothered him. He began to over analyze the situation and soon he was both confused and a little depressed.

The ride back to Chilliad wasn't as eventful as their escape and soon they were at the back exit. Jack remained in the Cargo bob and kept it running for their getaway. Geoff led the group into the base and in the direction of the command center.

"It's really quiet," Gavin observed nervously as they made their way through the halls littered with Inquisitor bodies. Ryan had also noted this, keeping a sharp eye out and drawing his favorite hunting knife from its sheath with his right hand while keeping his pistol in his left, ready to fire at any moment.

"I thought there'd be more, you know, resistance," Michael said and glanced around. Geoff turned on his communicator and commed Lindsay.

"Hey Geoff how's it going?" she asked.

"Fine as dicks Linds. Hey are you and the team still finding Inquisitors around?" he asked.

"Yeah but only a few scattered groups farther into the mountain. It's weird, they just sort of stopped fighting and seemed to disappear. The main group of us are still trying to defuse all the bombs in here," Lindsay replied. Ryan's ears perked up at the sound of that and he exchanged looks with Michael and Geoff.

"Did we suffer any losses?" Geoff asked nervously praying the answer would be a no. There was a pause before Lindsay replied.

"Well..." she said sounding torn.

"Lindsay?" Geoff asked feeling his heart drop and then rise and stick in his throat.

"Just...where are you guys?" Lindsay asked.

"We're almost to the command center why? Lindsay what happened?" Geoff asked. Jeremy and the lads exchanged glances at the tone their boss had. Ryan swallowed slightly and prepared himself. He knew that tone well, and knew something must've happened.

"There's a group there recovering from a nasty fight. They'll tell you," Lindsay said and cut the transmission.

"Lindsay?!" Geoff asked nearly hysterical. He turned to Michael with wide eyes.

"Your wife just fucking hung up on me!" he said incredulously. There was a moments silence before Michael and Jeremy both broke out in laughing fits, soon joined by Gavin and Geoff, Ryan chuckling a bit but still mentally preparing himself.

_Something happened. I can feel it._ he thought. He felt a presence near and looked down to see Jeremy standing there looking up at him. The lad offered a reassuring smile and nodded, Ryan smiling back as the group continued forward. They reached the command center to find Burnie, Matt Bragg, Trevor, Gus, Adam Kovic and a few of the other Roosters there in various states. Burnie was panting and wiping his brow, dirt and soot covering his skin. The B-Team boys looked shook up and seemed to be dressing and cleaning wounds they'd acquired, and Adam looked relieved at the sight of the Fakes.

"Burnie you wonderful sonofabitch what happened?" Geoff asked as he embraced his friend. Burnie smiled but it was a sad, tired smile.

"There were so many Geoff. We got em though," he said.

"But at what cost?" Adam asked sadly looking down. Jeremy was about to ask him what he meant when he heard sobs and the sounds of crying off to their left. Turning the group spied several of the Vagabonds that had come to help huddled in a group. Jeremy spied the young lad who'd helped them rescue Ryan standing with his friends, minus one. The lad looked pale but from this distance Jeremy could see he was trying to hold it together and be strong for his friends as he tried to comfort them. He saw Ryan stiffen and walk over to the group and followed at a distance to offer support. As Ryan got closer the lad looked up and Jeremy could see tears begin to form in his eyes, the lad fighting to control them.

"Who?" Ryan asked seeing the looks on Ninja and several of the other Vagabond's faces, Fallz, Tabi, and Cheryl crying together and holding each other while Omega looked pale. Ninja looked up when no one could answer.

"It's Lotti bossman. She's...gone," he said, his voice choking up. Under the mask Ryan grew pale and a look of sadness washed over him for a minute.

"How?" he asked, barely controlling his own voice.

"We found her hanging from the ceiling by..." Vix began to say before sobbing and shaking her head.

"What happened Ninjy?" Ryan asked turning to the lad. Ninja looked up and swallowed.

"She'd been hung, by her small intestine. Some sick fuck just ripped it out of here and hung her by it," he said and a look of anger came over his face. Ryan knew that look well and was slightly worried about the kid, knowing that that look led to revenge. Ryan placed a hand on Ninja's shoulder, feeling the tremors in the lad from his sorrow and rage, and without thinking embraced the lad. There in the deadliest murderer's arms, the lad broke and began to cry. Ryan comforted Ninja and looked at his group of loyal followers.

"You did well, all of you. You went above and beyond what anyone could've hoped and I'm so very proud of you. We will take time to mourn the lost and burry them properly, take your time," he said to the group as he separated from Ninja. The Vagabonds all nodded. Ryan turned to Jeremy and the lad saw the pain in his eyes at the loss of his friend.

"Dax is dead when we get back!" Ryan growled lowly as he passed Jeremy. He nodded and followed Ryan back to where Geoff was talking to Burnie.

"They're mostly kids Geoff! No younger than when we first started. I counted at least forty dead," Burnie was saying, his face pale at the memory.

"Fuck, this shouldn't have happened. They gave it their all and sacrificed everything to help us. Their sacrifices won't go unnoticed," Geoff said, choking up a bit.

"This is so fucked up!" Michael said angrily.

"It's my fault," Ryan said softly to Jeremy. The lad turned and stared at the killer. Ryan stood there with a blank expression on his face, his eyes vacant. Jeremy pulled him aside and put his hands on the man's shoulders.

"Listen to me Ryan, none of this is your fault! The Vagabonds came to help when you called yes, but they could've left anytime, or not shown up at all. The ones who died gave their lives so we could save this city and the lives of so many more. They knew the risks, and they gladly took them. This is not your fault you hear me?" he said softly so only Ryan could hear him, as he looked Ryan in the eyes. The light seemed to come back into Ryan's eyes for a moment and he nodded slowly.

"Thanks Jeremy. I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be, it's natural to want to blame someone or something for our hurt. Just don't go blaming my favorite person okay?" Jeremy said with a smile and wink, causing Ryan to chuckle.

"You got it!" he said.

"Geoff! We've got Inquisitors coming in! I could use some back up!"

Ryan and Jeremy exchanged glances at the sound of Jack's slightly panicked voice coming over the com. Before Ryan could say anything Jeremy stood and looked at Geoff.

"I'll go. When you get to the computer if Gavin can't get in for some reason..." he started to say.

"Oi wot's that supposed to mean you cheeky bastard?" Gavin interjected.

"Then comm me and I'll walk you through it. You shouldn't have a problem though," Jeremy said looking at Gavin. Geoff looked at his new recruit and then at Ryan who was pleading with his eyes not to let Jeremy go. The man sighed and nodded.

"Stay safe and if it gets too crazy out there grab Jack and haul ass back here. Understood?" he asked. Jeremy nodded and looked at Ryan one last time.

"I'll come back. We always manage to find each other. Take care of these assholes," Jeremy said with a smile before darting out the door into the hallway. Ryan watched as Jeremy vanished, not even noticing that he'd slightly raised his hand after the lad.

_Be safe Jeremy! Oh please stay safe!_ he thought as the sickening feeling in his stomach returned.

"C'mon let's get to that computer!" Geoff called and the group rushed towards the office. They piled in and watched as Gavin sat down at the seat and fired up the computer.

"Shit! Lil' J, what did you say the passcode was again?" he asked into the comm.

"Seriously Gav? I thought you had this buddy," Jeremy's voice teased over the comm causing Geoff to chuckle.

"No time lad wot's the bloody password?" Gavin said.

"It's Sally. I don't know what it means but that's what it is. Please call again if you require any more assistance on your computer sir," Jeremy said and terminated the transmission, Geoff chuckling.

"Got it! We're in!" Gavin exclaimed and went to work searching files. Geoff looked up at Ryan and saw that his friend was looking at the door and had a sad look in his eyes. He put a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"Jeremy will be fine, he's a very capable kid," he whispered to Ryan. The man looked at Geoff and smiled slightly.

"You think so?" he asked.

"He outsmarted your dumb ass didn't he?" Geoff winked and laughed when Ryan smacked him and smiled.

"What's taking so fucking long Gavin? Aren't you supposed to be good at this computer shit?" Michael asked impatiently.

"This isn't easy boi! Vagabond you know where the smegging kill switch is come find it!" Gavin snapped. Ryan walked over and pushed Gavin aside, the lad squawking, and began searching through files. After several minutes in which Geoff wore a tread in the carpet from his nervous pacing, Ryan finally opened a filed labeled Project Delta. Gavin gaped at its contents.

"This is high level stuff!" he gasped. Ryan stood and let Gavin take the seat back.

"So just flip the damn switch and let's be done with this shit," Michael said.

"Not going to be that easy boi," Gavin said with a frown as he studied the screen in front of him.

"Why the hell not?" Michael demanded.

"This isn't technically the kill switch. I mean it is but it's buried in all this," Gavin said and pointed at the screen. To the rest of the group it looked like a bunch of numbers and letters scrolling vertically on the screen.

"Are you FUCKING kidding me?" Michael roared.

"How long will it take you to get the right coding? Keep in mind Dax said this could be the kill switch or the detonator," Geoff asked. Gavin looked up at him and grinned cheekily.

"Not long at all! And I'll make sure it's the kill switch before I do anything," he said. Geoff nodded and turned the comm in his earpiece back on.

"Jack how's it going buddy? You guys still alive?" he asked. There was no answer. Geoff's eyes widened and he looked up, meeting the haunting eyes of Ryan.

"Jack you'd better fucking talk to me right now or I fucking swear to god!" Geoff said again, voice cracking. There was silence for a moment before static turned into heavy breathing.

"Jack?" Geoff nearly screamed.

"Geoff, they took him," Jack's pained voice came over the mic. Ryan's heart fell and he looked at the door.

"They took Jeremy Geoff!" Jack said.


	28. Race Against Time

Before Geoff could even react Ryan was dashing out the door and running past the group in the main room, and out into the hall. He didn't care if there were Inquisitors in his path, he mowed them down without a thought, tearing others to shreds in his wild rage, red completely taking over his vision. The man ran faster with one desperate thought in his mind.

_You need to find Jeremy!_

Ryan burst out of the entrance and made his way to the Cargo bob. There were bodies everywhere, the sight of which made him temporarily smile, as most had no heads from where Jeremy had been sniping them.

"Vagabond, have you found Jack?" Geoff's voice came through Ryan's earpiece. Ryan snapped back to the moment and looked around for his friend. He examined the Cargo bob but Jack wasn't there. Ryan closed his eyes and calmed his mind. When he opened them again he was focused as he examined the ground. He'd tracked Jack before, he'd tracked all of the Crew to keep himself sharp and also to show them how to shake a tail, so finding Jack's wasn't a problem.

"I found their tracks. Following them now. Can you send someone to help if we need medical assistance?" he asked.

"Of course!" Geoff said and Ryan heard him calling Mica and Andy. Shutting off his mic he pushed forward.

He followed the man's footprints, the prints and area around them telling him the story of exactly what happened.

_Jack was waiting here for Jeremy, holding off the Inquisitors as best he could based off the shell casings lying around. Jeremy came running up, hopped up onto the Cargo bob judging from those scuff marks and a bit of torn fabrics from his jeans. They had to evacuate, got too overrun seeing as there's many sets of footprints here I don't recognize._ the voice in his head said, automatically switching to tracking mode. He followed the footprints of Jack, and saw that they were soon joined by smaller prints that were obviously Jeremy's. The tracks led into the woods, Ryan drawing his knife and prepared to kill if needed.

"Jack? You there?" he called, letting the gent know he was coming so he wouldn't get shot by mistake.

_Wouldn't be the first time._ a voice reminded him in his head. He shook the voice away and crawled forward slowly, calling Jack every couple seconds. Finally a moan reached his ears and he darted forward. Pushing the branches of an evergreen aside he spied the large man lying on the ground propped up against a tree. He sighed at the sight of Ryan and lowered his rifle.

"The fuck took you so long?" he breathed with a small smile. Ryan didn't answer but went about checking Jack for injuries.

"What happened?" he asked, more for Jack's sake than his; a distraction of sorts.

"They started showing up thicker and thicker so I called for backup. When Jeremy showed up we fought them off as best we could but soon there were too many of the bastards. Jeremy tried to guide me back to the entrance but we were caught off so he pushed me into the woods, covering our backs with his sniper and pistol. He helped me as best he could, but eventually he shoved me forward and said not to look back. I did of course and saw that he was being tased. I watched as they surrounded him and drug him off. I tried to go after him but they shot me in the chest and I was knocked back, my glasses shattering," Jack said sorrowfully. Ryan noted that the gents glasses were broken.

"Well at least you had the sense to wear your body armor. It took the brunt of the shot. The bullets are lodged in the surface of it. You'll have some minor bruising, a cracked rib or two at worst. It'll hurt like hell but you'll live," he said. Jack nodded and looked at Ryan, trying to focus on his face.

"Vagabond, I'm sorry," he said.

"For what? Nearly getting yourself killed? That's more of an apology for Geoff," Ryan said trying not to make eye contact with Jack. Jack reached up and grasped Ryan's arm firmly and looked intently at Ryan.

"That's not what I'm sorry for, Geoff be damned for now. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect Jeremy. I know he's important to you. And I know that if it weren't for me he'd be with you right now. I'm sorry," he said with tears welling up in his eyes. Ryan looked away, blushing under his mask. He didn't know why he was angry with Jack, didn't know why he blamed him for Jeremy's disappearance. He just did.

"What's done is done. The kid made his decision. I'll find him," he said, flinching inwardly at how cold his voice sounded.

_Why are you being a shit to Jack?_

_He fucking let them take Jeremy!_

_That wasn't his fault and you know it!_

He shook his head and stood looking away, Jack's face falling and he knew that the Vagabond would never forgive him.

"You did nothing wrong. Let's just get you back to Geoff and fixed up," Ryan said, his voice more gentle but still looking away. It was the best he could do right now. Not quite forgiveness, but not malice either. Jack nodded and struggled to his feet. Slowly the two made their way back to the Cargo bob and met Mica and Andy and a worried Geoff at the entrance to the mountain base.

"Thank Christ you're okay! Don't you ever fucking do that to me again!" Geoff cried and hugged Jack, releasing quickly at Jack's grunt of pain.

"I'll be fine. You need to find Jeremy!" Jack said firmly. Geoff nodded and the group made their way back to the command center. Michael was waiting impatiently while Gavin spun slowly in the swivel desk chair he'd been sitting at when Ryan had left.

"Finally! Are Jack and Jeremy okay?" Michael asked as he stood ready for action. Ryan brushed passed Michael, ignoring him.

"What've you got Gavin?" he asked. The lad stopped spinning and rolled to the desk.

"I was able to find the correct code that activated the kill switch. As far as I can tell, all the explosives here now cannot be remotely detonated," he said. Ryan looked at him.

"But?" he asked sensing something in Gavin's tone. The Brit fidgeted awkwardly as he explained.

"I was only able to prevent remote detonation, but that doesn't mean that someone can't manually set off one of the charges," he said.

"And if one of those cunts goes off, the whole fucking mounting goes kaboom," Michael finished. Ryan groaned inwardly. This day just wasn't getting any easier. Suddenly there was a flash on the screen and a window popped up. The Crew gathered around and paled at the sight that met their eyes.

Jeremy was on his knees, hands bound behind him with a vest loaded with explosives strapped to him, two men holding him down, a giant chasm behind them. A dark laugh from behind the camera reached the Crew's ears and Jeremy looked up, seeming to look directly at them. Ryan flinched when he saw the cracked bleeding lip and the blood in the lad's beard, bruises on his face.

"Jeremy," he breathed silently as he felt his heart race and his rage build. The laughter stopped and a figure stepped out in front of the camera and smiled. The whole crew gasped.

It was Dax!

~~~  
~~~

Ray had kept careful tabs on the Crew's communications and when Jack had signaled for help he'd raced to save his friend. He'd made it outside just in time to see Jeremy pull Jack into the woods, Inquisitors in hot pursuit. He'd dashed after them, keeping to the far right and using the trees as cover. He killed a few of the Inquisitors but hadn't been able to save Jeremy from being snatched. Ray was torn between staying and helping Jack, or going after Jeremy and saving him.

_You've got a choice, make it quick!_ he told himself. Quickly taking out the few Inquisitors he could see moving in on Jack, he ran after Jeremy, determined to save him.

_Hold on Jeremy I'm coming! I may never be able to redeem myself for what I've done, but I can at least do one good thing!_ he thought as he ran. He'd tracked the Inquisitors to another hidden entrance to the mountain, checking for traps before venturing in. He followed the halls that led to what appeared to be the center of the mountain, a deep chasm leading down into blackened depths that Ray did not want to think about. Metal terraces with railings wound their way in a spiraling pattern up the sides of the rock walls, Ray assumed this was how the workers got around inside the mountain as they jammed it full of explosives.

_There's gotta be like a criminal do it yourself website that these guys get all this shit from._ Ray thought as he made his way along the metal platforms. Suddenly the sounds of a struggle reached his ears and Ray silently made his way towards them. Peeking around a corner he paled as he saw two large men forcing a bomb vest on a struggling Jeremy and then tie his hands behind his back, forcing him to his knees.

_Fuck!_ Ray thought. He noticed a shadowy figure standing in front of the trio a little ways, facing the wall that Ray couldn't see.

"Just fucking give up, you've lost and there's nowhere for you to go!" Jeremy growled. One of the men backhanded the lad's face and Ray cringed at the smack, noticing that Jeremy's lip had split slightly and was bleeding a little. The lad laughed which shocked Ray.

"You think you've really got a chance? Do you really not know the extent of what you've done? You've fucked with the Fake AH Crew, attacked their home, kidnapped some of their own, and tried to force them to surrender their city to you. And you honestly didn't think there'd be backlash from that?" Jeremy asked. The shadowy figure stiffened and then turned to face his prisoner. Ray nearly gasped at the sight that met his eyes.

It was Dax!

_But how? Dax is still at the warehouse tied up! No one could know he's there. Plus this guy is in perfect physical condition, we left Dax pretty fucked up._ Ray thought furiously. Jeremy's eyes had widened too at the sight of the man.

"But..you're..this is impossible!" he said confused. Dax smiled and laughed as he patted Jeremy's cheek.

"Nothing in the City of Sin, is impossible my little friend," he said and returned to the wall he'd been facing. Ray scanned the area for anything that would help, but he didn't find anything. He thought furiously trying to come up with a plan when all of a sudden Dax started laughing to the wall.

_Must have a monitor station up or something._ he thought.

Dax stepped out more in front of Jeremy and smirked at the monitor. There was something about that smirk and the way he carried himself that threw Ray off.

"Seems like you lost something Fakes, a little stray duck lost from the group?" Dax said in an annoying mocking voice and pointed at Jeremy who struggled, but was forced painfully back to his knees.

"He's got a bit of fire in him. Would be a shame to snuff that fire out," Dax said and pulled out the detonator for the explosives strapped to Jeremy. The lad stiffened and tried to look brace but Ryan and Geoff could see the fear in his eyes.

"Let him go Dax!" Geoff's voice came from the monitor. Dax shook his head and smirked.

"Can't really do that I'm afraid. Now what you can do is send that dog of yours down here and we'll negotiate a deal," he said coldly. There was a pause. Ray didn't like what he was seeing and knew he had one shot. As Dax continued to talk to the monitor where Geoff was at he slowly lowered himself to the floor, pulling out his sniper rifle at the same time. Laying prone he zoomed in on Dax and debated whether or not to kill the man himself or shoot the detonator out of his hand. On the one hand Dax would be dead for good this time, but he was too crafty not to have the detonator react if he took his hand off the button, a quick look confirmed that the man indeed had the detonator pressed. Now option two would mean he had to shoot the detonator just right so that it was completely destroyed with the first shot, a miss and Jeremy could explode.

_Fuck it, yolo!_ Ray thought and took aim.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the demand. Why did Dax want him? Payback for the interrogation? Ryan could only imagine.

_We have to save Jeremy!_ he thought desperately as he tried to think of a plan.

_Stay calm, panicking will only get him killed. Breathe. Think._ he heard the voice in his head say.

"What's your game Dax? Why keep fighting, you've lost! Surrender and we won't kill you," Geoff growled to the monitor.

_Entirely, only mostly._ Ryan thought. Dax chuckled.

"I've got the winning hand here Ramsey, I've got something you want," he said and kicked Jeremy in the side, the lad grunting in pain and curling over instinctively. Ryan felt his blood boiling and started to see red tinting the corners of his vision.

"And you've got something I want." Dax finished and looked intently into the monitor. Geoff was confused.

"If it's a safe walk out of here I can only promise that if you return my man to me. Otherwise you're a dead man walking," he said firmly. Jeremy looked up with a strange look of surprise that Geoff had called him "his man". Dax laughed. He looked at his watch and smiled.

"Here's what I'll do. I'm in the lower south construction area of the mountain. I'm setting a timer for twenty minutes. If your dog the Vagabond runs he can make it in fifteen. And he'd better show up alone. If he's not here, alone when this timer goes off, well, you'll be picking up chunks of our little friend Jeremy here," he said. Jeremy looked at the camera in fear and struggled again, this time getting a nasty right hook from one of the goons.

"Eat a dick you son of a bitch! Let him go and I'll show you who has the upper hand here!" Geoff roared. Dax just smiled and tapped his forehead in a two finger salute.

"Times ticking Ramsey, hope you make the right decision," he said and the screen went blank. The Crew stared at it for a second before Ryan was charging to the door.

"Vagabond, wait! It's probably a trap!" Gavin called after him.

"Let's think about this and make a plan!" Geoff said, mind already racing. Ryan whirled around on the others and each one shrank back slightly when they saw the burning anger in his eyes.

"Fuck that and fuck you! I'm not sitting back and losing Jeremy again! If Dax wants me, he'll fucking get me!" Ryan roared and stormed out into the halls, running at top speed in the direction of Jeremy.

_Hold on buddy, I'm coming to get you!_ he thought as he felt his feet run faster. Dax's words to him in the shed coming back to haunt him.

_You love him don't you? I've seen the way you look at him. Be a shame if something were to happen to him...And who knows, maybe I'll have a bit of fun with him myself before I decide what to do with him..._

This whole thing, it didn't seem right and it bothered Ryan. How the Inquisitors had only taken Jeremy and not Jack, or killed both. Now as he ran and began thinking he knew this was like Gavin put it, a trap.

_He took Jeremy because he knew I'd come for him. He knew. He played me and struck right where I was vulnerable!_ he thought. Ryan shuddered and pushed himself to go faster, faster. He didn't care if he was walking into a trap and doing exactly what Dax wanted him to do, all that mattered now was getting to Jeremy.

Ryan smiled darkly under his mask.

_And killing Dax!_ the Vagabond's voice in his head said.

~~~  
~~~

Ray slowed his breathing and was just about to pull the trigger when he heard the click of a safety and felt a gun barrel press against the back of his skull.

"Not today," a voice said. Ray stood slowly and saw that another goon had slipped around behind him and gotten the jump on him. His rifle confiscated he was pushed forward and led towards Dax. Jeremy looked up and looked both relieved and frightened to see Ray there. Ray offered a reassuring smile to the younger lad and then turned to Dax and frowned.

"So how'd you do it?" he asked before Dax could say anything. The man looked genuinely confused and that was all Ray needed. He sighed and crossed his arms.

"You know, you almost had me fooled. Almost," he said. Dax smiled and laughed.

"You were a fool to ever trust us in the first place. Did you honestly think that any gang in this dammed city would take you in? They've all got a grudge against the Fakes and would kill you on the spot," he said. Jeremy looked between the two men staring each other down.

"Give up your weapons Ray, the shows about to start," Dax ordered and Ray reluctantly surrendered his knives and pistol as well as his stun gun and brass knuckles.

"I'm actually glad you decided to drop in Ray, truth is I need both of you and our Vagabond friend here for what's about to happen," Dax continued as Ray was shoved to the floor beside Jeremy. The lads exchanged glances, Jeremy's worried, Ray's concerned. Before they could say anything Dax spoke up again.

"And I'm sure your crew would just love to hear what I have to say, but unfortunately what I have to say isn't for their ears. Hand it over," Dax said and held out his hand. Jeremy looked at Ray confused for a second before Ray slowly removed his earpiece comm.

"Sorry Geoff, I tried," he said as he handed it to Dax who immediately crushed the small device.

"And now we just wait for the Vagabond to show up," Dax said and sat in a chair nearby and pulled out a pistol. Jeremy shifted uneasily and Ray glared at him.

"What makes you think he'd be dumb enough to fall into your trap? He won't come," Jeremy said. Dax laughed, a long dark noise that chilled Ray's blood.

"Oh he'll show up and you wanna know why?" Dax asked and leaned in, running the barrel of the pistol down the side of Jeremy's face, the lad pulling away in disgust.

"Because I have you, and he'd better hurry because your time's running out," Dax said and Jeremy shuddered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters guys!! Can't believe how popular and liked this fic is, thank you for reading so far! I'll be at RTX in Austin TX for the next few days so if I have time I'll try to upload at least one more chapter. Can't wait!


	29. Not Who He Says He Is

"The transmission cut out," Jack said and looked at Geoff. "Geoff, what do we do?"

Geoff was pacing, furiously trying to think of a solution. Ryan had left not thirty seconds ago, his darker side taking over. Geoff had learned years ago not to get in the way when the Vagabond took over his friend's mind, death and killing being the only thing that satisfied the killer's bloodlust. Still, he had to do something, his boys depended on him and they were in danger.

"Vagabond I know you heard all that, please work with me here," Geoff said into his comm and waited for a response. All he got was a grunt of acknowledgement. It was enough.

"Okay, if he has both Ray and Jeremy and wants you there specifically then it's obviously a trap. You need to be careful, especially with that bomb strapped to Lil' J," he said.

"None of this is new information you know Geoff?" Ryan's voice came back. Geoff laughed.

"But it's coming from me so you better take it to heart dickhead. Now, is there anyway that we can help from here?" Geoff asked. Ryan was silent for a minute.

"Schematics. Try to find schematics of the construction area and see if there are any other ways into the area Dax described," he finally replied. Geoff looked to Gavin who was already typing away at the computer searching for what they needed.

"Got it! Seems like the only other way into the area besides the way you were directed is to drop down twenty feet from the terrace above. It's risky but if done right someone could grapple down and cover you," he said into the comm. Michael looked to Geoff hopefully. Geoff scratched his chin and looked at his young friend, finally nodding.

"Take Kovic, Willems, Coe, and Jenkins with you to help. And Michael, I don't need to tell you how delicate the situation is. Be careful, please," he said and watched as Michael nodded and rushed out the door, calling for his team to meet him.

"I'm going to see if I can deactivate Jeremy's bomb vest from here. At least short circuit the detonator if anything," Gavin said typing furiously away at the computer.

"You got all that Vagabond? Michael and his team will cover you while you get the lads out. Just give them enough time to get to you. And Gavin is going to try and disarm the explosives on Jeremy," Geoff said into the comm. Ryan grunted his acknowledgment and terminated the call.

Geoff sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. Jack walked over and pulled the slightly trembling man into a hug.

"We'll get them back. Safe and sound. Don't worry Geoff," he said. Geoff looked up at him and half smiled.

"Are you sure about that Jack?" he asked and shook his head. "I want to believe it, but I've got this terrible feeling something bad is about to happen."

"Vagabond won't let anything happen to them. He'll do everything he can to bring them back," Jack said reassuringly. Geoff looked into Jack's eyes and the bigger man saw something in his boss's eyes.

"That's what I'm afraid of. He'll do anything, including..." Geoff started to say but Gavin gave out a panicked and confused squawk which caught the two gent's attention. Gavin looked up at them pale and scared.

"Gavin what is it?" Jack asked as the two walked over to look at the screen Gavin was pointing a shaky finger to. Jack gasped and felt chills running down his back.

"We need to warn Vagabond. Now!" Geoff said as he gazed in horror at what was on the screen.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan ran faster than he'd ever run in his life. He was making good time, only a minute into the allotted twenty and he was a quarter of the way there. As he ran his mind began to clear a little of the Vagabond and the Ryan part of him started thinking more clearly. He did need a plan Geoff was right about that.

_Should I ask him to help again?_

_The kid's already lost one friend, do you really want to be the one to call him back into action?_ the Vagabond's voice asked him, surprisingly gentle. Ryan thought hard as he ran. He had a decision to make and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to make it. Finally he made up his mind.

"Michael, you there?" he asked into the comm, reaching out only to the young man.

"Loud and clear Vagabond go ahead," the lad replied.

"I have one more person to add to your team. Get Ninjy," Ryan said.

"What the fuck's a Ninjy?" Michael asked confused. Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, Ninja, the young lad who was helping us. He's one of my Vagabonds and he'll be a great help to you," Ryan explained. Michael didn't respond at first.

"Is he the kid wearing the ninja outfit and carrying a sword around?" he asked finally.

"Yeah that's him," Ryan said.

"Okay but he'd better not slow us down!" Michael muttered. Ryan smiled at that.

"Oh I don't think that'll be a problem. In fact, I sure hope you can keep up with the little fucker," Ryan laughed and then cut the comm.

_Lotti is already dead, if that boy dies you'll have his blood on your hands as well._ the Ryan part of him thought to himself.

_He'll be fine, he can take care of himself!_ the Vagabond side cut in. Ryan sighed and continued running. He still had eighteen minutes to reach Jeremy.

_Hold on Jeremy, hold on!_

~~~  
~~~

Michael pulled up to the room where most of the allied crews had stopped to rest, finding the four he was looking for and explaining the situation to them. They immediately jumped at the chance to help and readied themselves. As the team was preparing Michael looked for the group of Vagabonds and soon found them treating their wounded and cleaning or sharpening their weapons.

"Where's the Ninja kid?" he asked walking up. A few looked up at him and then pointed off to their right. Michael walked that way and saw the young man swinging his sword in a sequence of drills, mixing in some martial arts moves every once in awhile. The lad watched for a moment admiring the skill the young man had and his determination. Finally he cleared his throat. The kid came to a stop and sheathed his sword in its scabbard and slowly turned to face Michael.

"Hey there Mr. Jones," he said in a friendly tone, though his voice was still soft as if he were sad. Michael laughed.

"Just Michael please. I'm too young for that formal title bullshit," he said and the kid smiled and even laughed.

"What can I do ya for?" the kid asked.

"I just got a call from your boss..."

"What? How? I called in sick today, he can't possibly need me to come in today! And how in seven hells did he get your number?!" the kid exclaimed in a panicked voice.

"I meant the Vagabond," Michael said with a chuckle. The kid looked relieved.

"Oh thank God! Shit man don't do that to me I'm too young and handsome to die of a heart attack!" he said and laughed, Michael joining in as well.

_I think I'm going to like this kid!_ he thought.

"So what's ol Murder Boy up to?" the kid asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story and we're short on time. Basically Dax is back and has Jeremy and Ray. We need to help cover Vagabond while he rescues them," Michael explained.

_Maybe it's not all that long of a story after all,_ Michael thought.

"Really? And Vaga wants me to help? Why not one of the others? He knows a few of the other Vagabonds way better than me," the kid looked confused.

"I guess he just thought you were right for the job. Look are you coming or are you just gonna jerk off here?" Michael asked.

"Oh trust me, I am quite the multitasker, I can do both," the kid smiled. "But yeah I'm in. Dax is gonna have fun making sweet sweet love to the business end of my baby here!" he said and whipped out his sword and smiled at the humming metal of the blade.

_Okay it's fucking official, I love this kid!_ Michael thought as he laughed.

"Then quit fucking around and let's go stab the fuck out of Dax!" Michael said and turned to go, the kid following.

"Hey, um, Michael?"

"Yeah?" Michael looked over his shoulder at the kid.

"That's what she said," Ninja said with a wink and the two laughed as they joined the group.

~~~  
~~~

Ryan pulled up and slowly walked the last few feet through the entrance and came face to face with five sets of eyes, Dax sitting in his chair calmly, Jeremy still bound and on his knees, Ray sitting beside Jeremy looking absolutely bored with the whole scene, and Dax's two goons with guns to the Lad's heads. Dax stood and clapped slowly.

"And the hero arrives to save the day," he said. Jeremy swallowed hard and looked nervously at Ryan.

"Vagabond whatever they want don't do it!" he said in a desperate attempt to warn Ryan. The goon next to him punched him in the face, Jeremy spitting out blood.

"That the best you got King Kong? You hit like a girl!" Jeremy spat at the goon earning another punch, this one to his gut.

_Worth it!_ he thought as he gasped for air. Ryan was filled with anger and he could see red again tinting his vision, the bloodlust of the Vagabond stirring.

"What do you want Dax?" Ray asked sensing Ryan's murder building up. Dax smiled and gestured to his ear.

"First of all get rid of that comm Vagabond, I don't need your friends distracting you from what's about to happen," he said. Ryan remained still for a moment but reached up to his ear.

"Vagabond! There's something you've got to know about Dax. He's really..." Geoff's voice called through the comm but Ryan removed the earpiece and tossed it behind him, still glaring at Dax and imagining all the ways he could kill him. It almost made him happy.

"Now, why don't you be a good dog and get rid of your weapons? Make this a more civil environment," Dax said. Ryan looked pointedly at the guns pressed to the Lad's heads and grunted.

"Think of that as insurance that you won't do something we'll all regret," Dax said with a smirk. Ryan slowly started laying down all the weapons he had on him. Six knives, his SMG, two pistols and their clips, and a small hand ax. Dax nodded and the goon guarding Jeremy walked over and collected the weapons, Dax leveling his own pistol at Jeremy's head. Ryan watched as the goon walked, hoping to spot some form of weakness.

_He's left handed and seems to favor his right leg slightly, there's a small amount of hesitance when he puts pressure on it._ the Vagabond's voice spoke in his mind. He watched as the man returned and dumped all his weapons off to the side behind the monitor Dax had been communicating with the Crew with. Dax chuckled, seeming to read Ryan's mind.

"Don't be getting any ideas about overpowering my men here, it won't work. Now, let's get comfortable. Sit!" he commanded and kicked his chair over to Ryan, the Lads wincing at the sound of the metal chair scraping against the metal terrace. Ryan picked the chair up and sat in it, back straight and body relaxed, but also ready to leap into action at a moments notice.

"You know, I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. You've no idea how many times I've dreamed of having you two here, at my mercy," Dax said looking at Ray and then Ryan. That was a surprise, Ryan actually taken aback by the comment and he saw that Ray too was confused.

"Whats that supposed to mean? Also there are way more efficient ways of taking us on a date than this," Ray said smugly.

"You've had this a long time coming. It's time for justice to finally catch up to you two fuckers!" Dax growled. Jeremy looked between the three.

"What did they do kill your cat or something?" he asked. Dax whirled on Jeremy and backhanded him so hard the lad fell backwards, landing on his side with a painful grunt. Ryan was on his feet in an instance and Ray flinched hoping the bomb wouldn't go off. Dax and the goon who'd taken his weapons had their guns pointed at Ryan until he sat back down slowly.

"Guys don't joke about his cat, it's a touchy subject for him," Jeremy said, grunting through the pain. Dax rolled his eyes and signaled to his goon to haul Jeremy to his knees again.

"What do you want Dax? Enough of this bullshit," Ray said. Dax turned to face Ray with a smile on his face.

"First of all, I'm not Dax," he said. Ryan was confused.

"I am," said another voice. All eyes turned to see a bruised and bloodied Dax walking up, a scowl on his face.

"What the fuck?" Ray exclaimed. Beat up Dax smiled and pointed to his clone.

"Narvaez, meet my twin brother. Dan," he said.

_Oh fuck my fuck!_ Jeremy thought.

~~~  
~~~

"We're almost there. Ninja what do you see?" Michael asked into his comm as he and his team crept down the darkened hallway towards to construction zone. He'd sent the kid ninja up ahead to scout, the kid melting into the shadows and disappearing without a sound. The time limit the Vagabond had been given had long since expired and judging from the lack of explosions, Michael found it safe to assume he'd made it in time to stop the fucked up psycho from blowing up Jeremy. He was hoping they weren't too late.

"Well not a whole lot it's kinda dark. But there is light up ahead. I think when the assault on this place started the power to this sector was knocked out somehow," the kid responded. Michael had given him an extra comm and the team was all connected on one channel.

"Any signs of Dax or Vagabond and the hostages?" Michael asked.

"Not yet. Would you like me to go further and see what's at the end of the hall where the light is?" Ninja asked.

"Do it but don't fuck anything up and get caught," Michael said.

"Michael please, don't make me laugh," the kid said and terminated the communication. Adam chuckled.

"He certainly has spunk and personality," he said. Michael smiled at the Funhaus member.

"You bet he does!" he said. The group continued forward a few paces until something fell beside Tyler, causing him to yelp in surprise.

"It's okay bro, it's just me. Relax. Although if it had been anyone else than you'd probably be dead," Ninja said. Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Damn it kid don't do that to me! What if I'd shot you?" he hissed. Ninja shrugged.

"Then it probably would've hurt," he said, causing Ashley to giggle.

"Did you find anything?" Michael asked changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, they're up ahead! There's a cavern type room that goes down into the earth pretty deep and a bunch of metal platforms and stairs winding around it. When you walk out onto our platform you can just barely hear the group under us. There's railings everywhere that look pretty sturdy so we can grapple down," Ninja reported.

"Excellent! Could you hear what they were saying?" Michael asked.

"Not sure, I could hear voices and I recognized two as Ray and Jeremy but I didn't recognize the other voices. Although Ray and Jeremy seemed to be telling jokes or some shit," Ninja said.

"Leave it to Ray to find some weird humor in a hostage situation. Wait, you said you didn't recognize the other voices? One was probably Dax!" Michael said. Ninja looked confused.

"Are you sure? It didn't sound like him," he said. Michael was about to respond when his comm went off and he answered it.

"What Geoff?" he asked.

"You need to get in there and help Vagabond now!" Geoff sounded panicked.

"Geoff what's wrong?" Michael asked, the group looking at him with worried expressions.

"Gavin found something on the dickweed's computer. Michael, there's two of them!" Geoff said.

"What? Two of what?" Michael asked confused.

"Dax! He has a twin!"

"No fucking way!" Michael exclaimed looking up and meeting Adam and Ninja's eyes.

"But that's not all, there's more. The whole reason these two assholes have been after us this whole time! Attacking us seemingly out of nowhere," Geoff said.

"What? What is it?" Michael asked not really knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

"They want revenge," Geoff said, and the way he said it sent shivers up Michael's spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter guys and it's a long one! Thanks for reading up to this point! I've really enjoyed writing this and reading all the comments!


	30. One of You...

"How did you get away? You were tied to a chair!" Jeremy exclaimed seeing Dax, the real Dax standing before him.

"Oh trust me it wasn't easy. But when you've got video feed in your contact lenses, a rescue party isn't ever far off," Dax said. Jeremy noted that one of his hands had been bandaged and seemed to have blood soaking it slightly, his face bruised and his lower lip cracked and he limped significantly.

 _Probably from when Ryan interrogated him._ Jeremy thought.

"So that explains it. Why you know so much about us, how Dax escaped, all of it," Ray said as he looked between the two brothers. Now he knew why he'd been suspicious of Dan when he'd first spotted him.

"You like? Sorry we didn't spring the surprise on you sooner, we had a few...complications," Dan said and glared fixedly at Jeremy.

"What can I say, it's a gift!" the lad joked. Ryan watched the whole exchange, trying to come up with a solution.

 _Dax is still weak from when we interrogated him, use that to your advantage. Dan will be more of a challenge and without your weapons it'll be tricky disabling him,_ the Ryan side of him thought.

 _Never liked things the easy way anyway, too boring!_ he heard the Vagabond reply.

"So again, what the fuck is going on here? What's your plan here Double D?" Ray asked.

"I was thinking Double Trouble but yours is way better!" Jeremy chimed in. Ray laughed.

"That was pretty good. What about this one, Dynamic Dongs?" he returned, causing Jeremy to laugh and even Ryan chuckled slightly.

"Oh man can we please call them that?" Jeremy asked.

"Will you two shut the fuck up? This is a serious matter! Stop acting like children on a Sunday stroll! You're hostages!" Dan yelled. Ray winked at Jeremy.

"Sure thing D One. I just realized that if you spelled that out it spells done! Haha, Team Done as Dicks!" Ray laughed, unable to help himself from making the joke, Jeremy joining in. Dax and Dan grew red and Jeremy could almost swear he saw steam spewing from their ears.

"Enough!" Dax yelled and before Jeremy knew what was happening his body was seizing in pain and he screamed as he fell to the ground, jerking back and forth as electricity surged through his body. Dax smiled wickedly as he pulled the stun gun away. Jeremy rolled painfully onto his side and groaned.

"I don't think they like their new nicknames Brownman," he said. Ray nodded, once again serious. Ryan had risen from his chair angrily and Dan leveled his gun at the criminal.

"Now you just be a good Vagabond and sit that sexy ass of yours back down. I wouldn't want to have to use this," the man ordered and held up the detonator for Jeremy's vest. The Lads' eyes grew large and Ryan bit his lip. Reluctantly he slowly lowered himself into the chair again, all the while looking at Jeremy and trying to see if he was alright.

"See? What did I tell you? Easy!" Dax said to his brother who nodded.

"What do you mean easy?" Ray asked. Dan turned to him and smiled but said nothing, just tapped his temple with his finger. He signaled to the two goons who hauled the Lads to their feet, guns pressing painfully into their temples.

"Now Vagabond, take off that mask of yours. We all know you wear face paint so there's no point in the mask," Dan ordered. Ryan slowly pulled off his mask and was pleased to see that even though they'd all been expecting it, no one in the room was prepared for the face that met their eyes. His red, white and black skull face was even more detailed and horrifying than normal!

 _Good! Still have a small amount of control in the surprise section!_ he thought. Taking a gulp and shaking his head to revert back to the present, Dan smiled.

"Now for what we're all here for. It's you're lucky day actually Vagabond!" he said. Ryan didn't react but was genuinely curious. He could tell the Lads were too.

"Today you get to choose which of your friends gets to live..." Dan said.

"And which dies!" Dax finished, laughing maniacally as horror crossed Jeremy and Ray's faces.

~~~  
~~~

"Revenge? Revenge for what?" Michael asked.

"Look there's no time to explain other than Gavin found some pictures on the computer and that these two jerkoffs have a very personal grudge against us! Now go save them!" Geoff sounded panicked. Michael acknowledged and then silenced the comm, turning to his team.

"New plan: double time to go fuck up these assholes! Times just run out!" he said and the group darted forward, silently following Ninja who'd taken the lead to guide them.

 _Hold on boys, Mogar is coming for ya!_ he thought, hoping that they'd get there in time.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy's heart leapt into his throat and his legs felt weak. Dax's statement hung in the air, suffocating him, smothering him!

"What the fuck?"

Jeremy turned in surprise at hearing Ryan's voice. He honestly wasn't expecting Ryan to talk but even now, even in this dire situation he found himself in, he felt comfort in the voice.

"Boys, make our guests more comfortable while I recant our hero with the tale of our misfortune," Dan said. The goons nodded and the one holding Ray bound the lad's hands behind him, while the one holding Jeremy slipped a rope noose over the struggling lad's head and tightened it around his throat. Jeremy's panicked eyes met Ryan's and it broke the man's heart seeing them.

"Leave him alone!" he barked and took a step forward. Dan raised the detonator up threateningly but just as he did it sparked and the red light on it zapped out. Ryan and Jeremy both sighed. Jeremy was safe from the explosive.

"I see your little hacker managed to disarm the vest. Clever but it won't prolong the inevitable," Dan said tossing the detonator over the terrace and ripping the bomb vest off Jeremy.

"Sit down Vagabond," he said. Ryan growled but took a seat again angrily, counting the ways he could end Dan with his bare hands.

"What do you two want?" Ryan asked, not caring if his voice was heard.

"Keep your trap shut and listen. Long ago there was a family living here in Los Santos. A happy couple with dreams of changing the world into a better place. He was a big wig business man who also had a small place in government, while she volunteered with the less fortunate members of the community. Everybody loved her, everyone respected him. Until one terrible night when everything changed," Dax snapped at Ryan and launched into his story. Something about it seemed familiar to Jeremy, and glancing at Ray he saw that he too had a weird sense of familiarity about the story.

"That night the couple were spending an evening together, not knowing that danger was waiting for them, stalking them like a prowling tiger outside their door. The woman went to the bathroom upstairs to see if their suspicions were correct, the husband waiting nervously but excitedly on the bed. A sound startled him and he rose to his feet, whirling around to see two masked and darkened intruders in his room, guns leveled at his head," Dax continued.

 _Wait a minute!_ Jeremy thought as the realization finally started sinking in. Glancing at Ray he saw the lad was also thinking the same thing, a sick, regretful, pained look on his face that now looked as if all the blood had drained from it. Jeremy looked over and saw Ryan's eyelid twitch ever so slightly, a tell that the man knew what was coming.

"Before the man could warn his wife of the danger and possibly save her life, she emerged from the bathroom, a happy smile of joy on her face and a few words on her lips. She looked up and saw the scene, all joy fading as horror crossed her face. Before anyone could react, the smaller of the two intruders whirled and without a second thought, sent three rounds into her body, twice into her abdomen, and once in the head. The wonderful perfect woman, who'd never hurt a fly, but always put others first and cared for them deeply, fell to the floor dead, her positive pregnancy test falling to the floor, dropped from the gentle hands!" Dan's voice had grown louder and now he shouted the last part angrily. Ray gave a strangle sob and Jeremy felt sick to his stomach. Dax grimaced and then frowned at Ryan.

"But you of course already know this and how the husband met his tragic fate, because you were there! It was you Vagabond! You and Ray who murdered the couple and took them from this earth! You stole their lives and futures away, and for what? Some meager bounty money?" Dax shouted. Ray hung his head, all the nightmares he'd had since the incident, all the fears and depression, the self hate and suicidal thoughts all came rushing back to him. He wanted to die. It was only fair right? Justice catching up to him at last.

"Now you may be wondering, why does this matter to these two? Who are they?" Dan followed up.

"The thought had crossed my mind yes," Ryan said, thankful his voice was steady. The twins burned in rage as they stared at him.

"The woman, the wife and mother. She was our sister!" Dax growled, tears coming to his eyes. Jeremy's jaw dropped and he felt a deep sadness on a level no one could understand. Ray reacted similarly and sobbed.

"But now our beautiful and precious sister Sally is dead. She'll never laugh at jokes again, never volunteer to help others and do good again, she won't even know what it's like to become a fucking mother! You monsters stole even that from her!" Dan roared. Jeremy felt tears welling up in his eyes and Ray was screaming something he couldn't understand in Spanish. Ryan was a frozen, unresponsive wall. He felt it alright, felt it deep inside him. The pain, regret, frustration and anger. But he refused to let it show. He refused to give Dax and Dan the satisfaction.

"So what, this whole thing has been one elaborate plot to get us all together to talk about this?" he asked in a flat unemotional voice that made Jeremy flinch. Dax ran over and slapped Ryan across the face hard and glared at the man before returning to his brother's side, Ryan not even reacting to the slap.

"At first yes. We wanted whoever was responsible for Sally's death to pay dearly for it! To suffer like we did. Eventually we found out it was you fuckers and then it just wasn't enough to get rid of the two of you, the whole rats nest had to be exterminated! But then we got to thinking, why just stop with the Fakes? While we're at it let's clean up the streets and do what those damned LSPD never would do and exterminate the whole gang population of the city," Dan explained. Jeremy's mind was racing.

"But in order to do that, since there are so many gangs and crews running Los Santos, you then decided to destroy the city," he finished for the twins. Dax smiled and pat Jeremy's cheek, causing Ryan to boil with rage.

"There see? You're starting to catch on little guy! You're not so dumb for being a Fake," Dax said. Jeremy pulled his face away and glared at Dax.

"I'd like to point out that in your quest to destroy us and every gang here in the city, you created a gang. Following the irony here pal?" Jeremy growled. Ryan felt pride at the lad's spirit.

"Look, I know what you're going through. I lost my parents to gang violence too when I was young. But that doesn't mean you take matters into your own hands and take revenge as the path! Trust me when I say that that road will only waste your life away and make you miss out on what could be happening," Jeremy continued, this time a lot more gentle.

 _In a fucked up way, they aren't really all that different than me!_ he realized with slight disgust. The twins stared at Jeremy before shaking their heads.

"When you've got nothing left there's no point to finding the silver lining. Fuck this city!" Dan said. Jeremy's eyes widened and he looked at Ryan in fear. Ryan saw how scared Jeremy was and felt fear creep up inside him as well.

"It was my fault! I pulled the damn trigger. Kill me, but let the others go. Vagabond's innocent of this and Jeremy wasn't even part of the crew at the time. Let them go please!" Ray pleaded mournfully.

"Isn't that sweet bro? Another hero trying to save his friends. Touching really," Dan said. Jeremy started to get a bad feeling.

"Not gonna happen Narvaez. And your little buddy Jeremy is here because he's a Fake just like you two, he's guilty by association. But it doesn't matter because this is his choice! We want him to suffer like we've suffered!" Dax said and pointed at Ryan. The goons hauled Jeremy and Ray to the side railing of the terrace a foot away, the goon holding Jeremy tying the other end of the noose around the lad's neck to the metal rail. Jeremy became panicked and struggled but the good held him in place, one punching him in the gut. Ryan only a few feet away looked at Jeremy in anguish.

_This can't be happening! Make it stop!_

_How the fuck am I supposed to do that?_

_You're the damn Vagabond! Think of something! Don't let them hurt Jeremy!_

_What about Ray?_ Ryan looked between the two and felt torn.

"You choose Vagabond! Which one dies and which one lives? Make the choice like you made for our sister!" Dax roared. He'd walked over and grabbed Jeremy by the front of the shirt and bent him backwards slightly over the rail. The lad's heart was pounding and he couldn't help the whimper of fear as he looked down into the chasm below, his fear of heights not helping one bit.

"Will it be Ray? You trusted partner and coworker you've known and trusted for years? Who you swore you'd protect?" Dan asked forcing Ray to his knees and pressing his gun to the back of the lad's head. Ryan looked at Ray, scared for the lad, his friend.

"Or will it be the new recruit, Jeremy, the innocent one in all of this who deserves none of it, and the man you love?" Dax snarled. At that Ryan's eyes snapped to him and then Jeremy, the lad's meeting his.

 _How the fuck do they know?!_ he thought.

"Oh yes, we know all about your little infatuation with him. It actually helped us out more than you know! The perfect lure to catch the most feared criminal in the state. Who knew it would be a love interest?" Dan smiled wickedly. Ryan and Jeremy kept staring at each other. Fear was in both their eyes and he unknowingly took a small step forward. Ray looked up at Ryan and the man broke his gaze with Jeremy to look at him, and saw that the lad knew. Ray wasn't dumb, he knew that Ryan loved Jeremy, loved him in ways that he never would love Ray. He'd known for awhile. He'd known the moment Ryan brought the new recruit in and couldn't stop glancing over at him, had known since Ryan had started behaving differently and acted more protectively of the new lad. He knew all along, that if it ever came down to it, Ryan would choose Jeremy over him. And he was okay with that. He smiled slightly, Ryan seeing the repose in Ray's eyes as the lad slowly nodded. Dan smiled victoriously and looked over at Dax, a look that if Ryan had noticed it, would've frozen his blood.

"I think we have a winner! Toss him!" he said. Jeremy looked back at Ryan, terror welling up in him. He was about to die and wanted to memorize everything about Ryan before he left this world. His stance, his hair, his beautiful blue eyes that melted Jeremy's heart and warmed him to the core. His handsome face which he so desperately wanted to kiss, but now never would get the chance to. All this he saw as Dax smiled and started to shove him over the railing.

"No!" he heard Ryan scream and saw him dart forward, saw the goons smash him to the ground and force his head up to watch. He heard Ray scream his name. The last thing Jeremy saw before disappearing over the edge of the rail was Ryan's contorted face, stricken with fear, sadness, and helplessness, tears running down his cheeks.

"It's okay Ryan, I'm going to see my parents now," Jeremy said softly to himself as he closed his eyes and waited for the rope to go taut and his neck to snap.

There was a blur of movement and a flash of black that was almost too quick for anyone's eyes to catch. The blur sped quickly after Jeremy, a sharp metal clang left behind. Ryan wasn't sure what happened until he saw the grapple hook attached to the rail. Before he knew what was happening there was a shout and Michael's team came zipping down from the terrace above, firing their weapons. The two goons were immediately hit but Dax and Dan dashed away before they could be hit. Michael and his team hit the floor and rushed to Ray and Ryan.

"You okay bud?" Adam Kovic asked as he reached Ryan and pushed the dead goons off of him, offering his hand. The man ignored him and dashed to the railing, looking over and sobbing.

"Jeremy!" he screamed. He reached down and pulled on the rope the lad had been tied to but to his horror it was loose in his hands. Ryan sobbed and crumpled to the ground. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Ray looking at him, tears filling his own eyes.

"It should've been me! Vagabond I...oh fuck I'm so sorry!" he sobbed. He knelt and Ryan hugged him crying.

"I'm sorry I had to choose! You're my team, my friends, family and I could never pick one of you over the other!" Ryan sobbed.

"I know Ry," Ray said in a choked voice, wishing it had been him that was dead instead of Jeremy. Ryan stood slowly after a moment and looked out over the rail once more, knowing Jeremy was gone. A part of him was gone too. The part of him he never thought would come about. The part that had felt compassion and love for another person. Not just dutiful love and dedication like he had for the Crew, this was deeper than that. Dax had been right. He loved Jeremy.

"Hey! Are you nerds gonna sit around and cry all day or are ya gonna help me here? This guy ain't light you know. No offense man!"

Ryan spun around to see Ninja sticking his head up barely over the rail, grasping it tightly with one hand. Rushing over Ryan and the group saw that Ninja's other arm was wrapped around a desperate looking Jeremy. The ninja Vagabond's strength wouldn't last though, and both knew it. With a cry of joy Ryan reached down and helped pull both lads up to the terrace. Ninja bent over and panted for breath, but Ryan immediately swept Jeremy up in a hug. He fell to his knees pulling Jeremy down with him after cutting his hands free and pulling the noose from around his throat. He hugged Jeremy for a long time, the lad returning the hug, both holding onto each other as if they were afraid to let go.

"I told you we always find each other," Jeremy said softly, earning a snort and a squeeze from Ryan.

"I thought I'd lost you, for good this time! I've never been more afraid in my life! The thought of life without you, without being with you..." Ryan started but couldn't finish, his voice cracking. Jeremy smiled and the two rocked gently. They both were shaking after the whole experience.

"You two are so cute together!"

Ryan and Jeremy looked up to see Ninja smiling down at them, the rest of the team also smiling. The two laughed and stood, wiping their eyes and collecting themselves. Ryan grabbed Ninja and pulled him into a big hug, a grateful hug.

"Whoa there big guy, take it easy. I need that spine," Ninja joked as he returned the hug. "You're welcome and I'm glad you're both okay!" Ninja whispered in Ryan's ear before they separated. The man nodded and then looked back at Jeremy.

"Let's never do that again," he said.

"Agreed!" Jeremy said looking pale, still trembling. Ray came over and he and Jeremy hugged and then Ryan was hugging them.

"Oh no, you fuckers aren't leaving me out of the family hug!" Michael said sternly and joined in, the small group squeezing tightly to each other, trying not to think about how close they were to losing each other.

"I believe this is yours," Michael said when they parted and handed Ryan his mask. He took it gratefully and thanked Michael and the team.

"Ready to go fuck them up?" Michael asked as Ninja returned the weapons to Ray, Ryan and Jeremy.

"Abso-fucking-lutely! I believe someone owes me for nearly hanging my ass!" Jeremy growled.

"Every one dies today!" Ryan spat. Ray was silent but nodded.

"Dibs of turning Dax into a human shish kebab!" Ninja cheered and whipped out his sword and swung it a few times gracefully before returning it to its sheath. The group laughed and they charged after Dax and Dan. Michael filled in Geoff and the rest of the Crew and told them where they were headed, Gavin directing them to a hall that lead them back to the control center. By this time the whole Family had gathered there, including the remaining Vagabonds, who were relieved to see Ninja.

"Later crazy guy! If you ever need my help, don't hesitate to call. Just don't call while I'm on the toilet, that'd just be weird," Ninja said and winked at Ryan who smiled and gave Ninja one last hug goodbye as he joined his friends. Geoff ran up and hugged Ryan, Ray and Jeremy all at once, tears in his eyes.

"You guys had me so fucking worried! Thank God you're all back safe! Don't you ever fucking almost die on me again!" he exclaimed, voice cracking in the typical way it did when Geoff got emotional. Ryan nodded.

"Seriously, I was not about to dig three graves for you fucks," Geoff said and hugged tighter. Jeremy didn't know what to say or how to react. Geoff was being so...genuine and not jokey funny Geoff. He was serious. Sometimes he forgot how much Geoff really cared for his Crew. He hugged back and enjoyed the moment with what he considered to now be his family.

"Okay enough of this emotional bullshit. Dax and his twin are still out there and we need to stop them once and for all! Lindsay, how's the plan coming along?" Geoff asked, pulling away from the returned Crewmembers. Lindsay and Trevor looked at each other and grinned.

"All ready to go Geoff!" Lindsay said.

"The plan?" Jeremy asked. Trevor giggled and smiled.

"Just how we're gonna take care of the explosive mountain," he said mysteriously. Jeremy smiled. He'd missed B-Team.

"Okay, Funhaus, Roosters, and the rest of you, get to the designation point Gavin sent all of you and get cracking!" Geoff said. The teams split and soon it was only the Vagabonds and the Fakes left.

"Need any help?" Vix asked Geoff. The other Vagabonds looked at the Fakes expectantly and with more than a little excitement. Geoff looked over all of them.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when one of my men had a whole fucking gang formed from his fans. Or that Vagabond would even HAVE fans," Geoff said. The Vagabonds laughed.

"What can we say? The man's an artist!" Ninja said with a smile.

"THANK you! See Geoff? I'm not the only one who thinks murder is an art form!" Ryan exclaimed throwing a hand out to the Vagabonds who were all giggling or smiling unsettlingly.

"You have a weird life Vagabond," Jeremy chuckled and winked at Ryan while Geoff rubbed his forehead.

"You creepy motherfuckers wanna help? Well here's what I need you to do, I have a friend named Mica who's waiting outside in a helicopter waiting for word from me to start the plan. I'd like you guys to go and tell her to get started and help her and Andy any way you can! You guys are the key so don't fuck this up, cause if you do then..." Geoff mimicked an explosion, causing several Vagabonds to giggle at his antics but they all nodded and took off.

"One last thing Vagabond," Ninja said before he left.

"What's that Ninjy?"

"Give em hell!" the lad said with a cocky grin. Ryan laughed and nodded.

"Just for you," he said and Ninja laughed.

"You're too sweet! You really caught a keeper here Jeremy!" he whispered to the two before darting off after his friends, leaving Jeremy and Ryan to blush.

"Now lets hunt down these guys and give em a dose of some good ol FAHC justice!" Geoff said and the team darted off after Dax and Dan.

~~~  
~~~

The team searched the halls and living quarters but found no trace of the brothers. The occasional Inquisitor would pop up and would quickly be eliminated. One had grabbed Jeremy and was about to stab him when Ryan came roaring after him, giving in to the darkness and red filling his vision. The Inquisitor soon lay in tattered shreds across the floor, Ryan heaving angry breaths as he calmed down and checked on Jeremy who'd stared at him in awestruck terror, but managed a smiled.

"Bet you're glad he's on our side huh?" Michael chuckled and Jeremy nodded. The crew continued forward, soon making idle conversation to pass the boredom. Geoff grew increasingly frustrated each time their search turned up nothing.

"It's like looking for a needle in a fucking haystack!" he grumbled.

"Geoff, million dollars but, you have to fall into a haystack made of needles!" Gavin said.

"That sounds like the worst case of acupuncture ever!" Ryan mused as he looked around a corner to find it was empty.

"Yeah I guess I'd do it. How big are the needles?" Geoff asked. Gavin pondered this for a minute.

"Just the size of a standard sewing needle," he finally said. Geoff scoffed.

"Then fuck yeah I'll do it!" Geoff said.

"Geoff! Why?" Jeremy asked wincing at the thought of the pain.

"Why not?" Geoff shrugged and Jeremy shivered.

"Yolo!" Ray shouted and the group laughed.

Michael glanced over at Ray and then slowed his pace so that he and his fellow Lad were walking together slightly behind the group. Ray had been mostly quiet the whole search, and the look on his face worried Michael.

"Hey, you okay man?" he asked nudging Ray with his elbow. Ray shook his head and tried to calm his breathing. Everything was falling apart before his eyes.

"You know you can talk to me right? We're like brothers Ray! I'm here for you," Michael implored as he put his arm around Ray's shoulder. The lad came to a stop and looked Michael directly in the eye, sadness and hurt there.

"If I told you, you'd hate me. Hell I fucking hate myself for it," he muttered and shook Michael's arm off his shoulder. Michael's eyes went wide and he shook his head, hugging Ray.

"I could never hate you Ray! Fucking pissed at you but never hate. We're family you can be open with me," he said. Ray sobbed and felt tears burning his eyes and he shook his head.

"We're all family!"

The two lad's looked up to see Geoff and the others standing nearby with gentle comforting looks on their faces. Ray looked from one to another still shaking his head.

"You don't understand! If I tell you, I won't be family to you anymore and I might as well be dead!" he said. Jack looked heartbroken and Geoff's eyes watered.

"Ray, if you don't trust us enough to tell us what's the matter, than you're pushing us away and treating us like we aren't family. We want to help, to understand, but to do that, you need to tell us," he said choking up. Ray looked at Ryan who nodded and walked over to stand by him, Jeremy joining as well.

"You need to tell them Ray," Jeremy said.

"All of it. The truth," Ryan said gently. Michael and the others looked confused but ready to listen. Ray sobbed and looked up into their eyes, hating himself for what he was about to say and feeling like he would throw up.

"It's all my fault. I betrayed you and I'm a traitor to the Crew!" he said.

~~~  
~~~

Jeremy watched as Ray explained to the Crew everything that had happened. He felt pain for the lad, wanting to make him feel better and smile again. Ryan put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up.

"It'll be hard for him but he needs to do this," he said softly so only Jeremy could hear. The lad nodded and watched as Geoff began to cry and hold Ray in a hug, the younger trying to avoid the others gazes, afraid of what he'd see there.

"I'm sorry! I'm so fucking sorry!" Ray cried as he shrank into himself, afraid the Crew would turn on him at any second. The Crew circled around Geoff and Ray and all joined in on the hug, Ryan joining and Jeremy following last.

"I don't know what to say other than I'm sorry for not being there and making you feel like this was your only option," Geoff said.

"Like I said, I'm pissed at your dumbass decision but you're my family Ray and I still love you!" Michael said, Gavin nodding and sputtering something.

"How? How can you still want me around and care about me after I stabbed you in the back?" Ray sobbed.

"Because you're one of us Ray and nothing will ever change that!" Jack said.

"Even after this fuckup of yours, you've proven that you care for the Crew and will do anything for us, you were even ready to take all the hits from Dax and Dan for me and Lil' J," Ryan said. "And like you told me once, you never wanted any of this to happen."

"How very touching."

The group whirled to see Dax and Dan standing there slow clapping. Ryan growled and separated from the group, ready to tear the two limb from limb. In a flash Dax had his gun out and fired, Ray crying out in pain and falling to the floor holding his bleeding right shoulder, Dan firing next, Jack crumpling to the ground with a scream, holding his leg. Jeremy was frozen in fear as Dax leveled his gun at him next, and smiling wickedly but Gavin tackled him to the ground just as another shot rang out and the Brit screamed as his leg felt like it was on fire. Geoff had drawn his own pistol and had it leveled at the two, Dan clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

"Now now Ramsey, put that away before you hurt yourself, or one of your crew," he said. Geoff shoved a raging Ryan behind him who then squatted down and checked on Jack, Jeremy sliding over to his side, Michael hugging Ray and Gavin protectively while looking up to Geoff for guidance. Though the wounds were bloody, Ryan noted with relief that none were fatal.

"Who knew that taking out the FAHC would be this easy?" Dax chuckled. Ryan was burning with rage and red began filling his vision again. As he adjusted to see better he felt a weight in his jacket.

 _The C4!_ he thought excitedly. He remembered now stashing it and a detonator in his jacket earlier when he'd stolen them from the truck Jeremy had brought back.

 _But Gavin defused all the detonators, it's not going to work unless..._ Vagabond's voice said in his mind. An idea began to form and he knew he'd only get one shot. He glanced down at Jeremy.

 _He can do it. If anyone can make the shot, he can!_ he thought proudly.

Slowly he nudged Jeremy and pulled out the block of C4 he'd swiped earlier, the lad not reacting but nodded ever so slightly. He knew what Ryan wanted him to do even without the words.

"You fuckers are dead!" Geoff roared at the two who just laughed.

"You lot are the only ones who are dead. We'll start with the big one and then work our way down the line until only Ray and you are left," Dax said as he walked closer. Geoff stood protectively over his Crew, determination in his eyes.

"You fuckers aren't going to touch them! Not my boys! Not while I'm still alive!" he shouted. Dax grinned.

"Then I guess we'll have to start with you Ramsey!" he growled.

Ryan looked at Jeremy and raised an eyebrow, the lad slipping his pistol out and flipping the safety off. Suddenly there was movement to their left.

"Ray what the hell are you doing?!" Michael screamed. The group turned to see Ray standing and taking a couple painful steps forward, holding his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"Leave...my family...alone!" he growled through the pain.

 _Shit now Ray is in the way!_ Ryan and Jeremy both thought at the same time, exchanging nervous glances. Ryan thought for a second and then nodded at Jeremy who swallowed but twitched one eyelid in an acknowledging wink and prepared himself.

"You're all dead Narvaez, just accept it. You doomed them the minute you and Vagabond killed Sally. Take one last look at them and know, their deaths are on you!" Dan exclaimed raising his gun again.

Before anyone could react three things happened. Ryan threw the C4 as hard as he could and lunged for Ray's legs, Jeremy whipped his pistol up and took aim, and Ray lunged forward with a yell, avoiding Ryan's saving tackle, and shot both the twins in their knees causing them to fall, firing a couple shots into Ray's chest and leg. Everything happened in a blur, almost to quick to see, but to the Fakes, it all happened in slow motion. Jeremy's shot was true, finding its mark on the C4 as it landed between the twin brothers, the explosion throwing all of them back. The ceiling and walls of the tunnel caved in, tons of dirt and rock falling onto the place the Crew last saw the exploding brothers.

Dust filled the air and the group of criminals coughed and waved their arms in front of them to clear the cloud away. When it did clear they paled. In front of them was a massive cave-in, the rest of the tunnel shaking like it could collapse at any moment. But the thing that caught their attention and made Geoff give out a strangled cry was Ray laying there, half buried by the debris and his head bleeding from where a metal support beam had struck him.

"Ray!" Michael screamed as he, Geoff and Ryan darted over and began digging their friend out. Ryan managed to pull him out and gently slide him over to where their wounded were painfully picking themselves up.

"We need to get out of here! Now!" Geoff said panicked. With Michael helping Gavin and Jeremy somehow supporting the larger Jack, Geoff and Ryan carried Ray as the crew rushed to one of the exits they knew was near. Meeting B-Team and several of the others there they told them what happened.

"Mica are you ready?" Geoff called into his comm.

"Ready on your mark boss!" Mica called back.

"Lindsay, is everyone out of the mountain?" Geoff called.

"All accounted for Geoff! We're almost to you right now just a couple minutes down the mountain. Do it!" she called over the comm. Geoff looked down at Ray who didn't look good and was being looked at by Caleb, at Jack and Gavin who were being attended to by medics, to Ryan holding a pale Jeremy as if he were a priceless treasure.

"Mica, rain hell down!" he gave the order. As he did an EMP wave rocketed from the helicopter Mica had been in circling above the mountain mouth, the pulse surging down into the mountain, zapping out any and all electronic explosives, while at the same time rock and dirt was dumped down the mouth of the mountain by the many bulldozers that had been perched near the mouth of the mountain with tons of dirt and rock piled high, burying everything within and sealing the whole thing. There was a cheer from the group walking up to join in. The red head rushed over and embraced her husband and smiled at her friends, until she saw Ray.

"Oh fuck! Is he?" she asked, her voice catching. Geoff shook his head.

"Not yet but his time is short," he said.

"Hey, stop talking like I'm not here you asshole."

Geoff cried and knelt beside Ray who'd opened his eyes weakly and was looking around. He knew he was dying, knew there wasn't anything Caleb could do to help him, try as he might.

"Stop all that crying you bitches. This is for the best, it was bound to happen to one of us eventually," Ray muttered.

"Shut the fuck up Ray! This was never supposed to happen! Don't say shit like that!" Geoff cried.

"I tried to make it right Geoff. I tried to fix things and make up for what I did," Ray said weakly, breaths coming less and less now.

"You did buddy! You helped save us! You gave your life for us, to protect us!" Geoff sobbed and tears filled his eyes as he held the lad's hand.

"Vagabond?" Ray asked. Ryan knelt beside his friend and felt a lump in his throat.

"Take care of them for me okay? And take care of this one, he's a keeper and a good member of the Crew. Who knows, maybe he'll even be better than me as a sniper some day," Ray said indicating Jeremy who sobbed and shook his head.

"I could never and will never replace you Ray!" Jeremy said feeling all the pain at seeing someone close die all over again.

"Psych! You're right, I'm still the fucking best!" Ray chuckled causing the others to gasp out laughter through their tears.

"But seriously, take care of him. He's one of you now. He's always been one of you. And Jeremy?" Ray asked. Jeremy knelt beside his friend.

"Take care of this asshole for me. You know how he gets," he said pointing at Ryan. Jeremy smiled and sobbed, nodding as Ray weakly winked. Ray gently took his two friend's hands and put them together in a unifying hold.

There was movement and the crew looked up to see Matt Peake from Funhaus coming forward. He was sweaty and dirty and had blood all over his jacket, his ax also dripping blood.

"I may be able to help," he offered quietly. Jeremy looked up hopefully.

"How? Whatever we can do to save him we'll do it!" Geoff exclaimed. Matt hesitated before speaking again.

"I have contacts over in Liberty City. I'm a little embarrassed to say they're part of a Cult that finds me...fascinating for some reason, calling themselves the Cult of Peake. Anyway, they have some...less than conventional ways of healing mortally wounded," he said. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Unconventional?" he asked.

"You really don't want to know. But they can help. It's the only chance we have at saving your friend," Matt said. Geoff and Ryan shared a glance.

"This is my decision guys," Ray coughed.

"Please! Let them help you Ray!" Gavin pleaded. Ray did his best shrug and closed his eyes.

"Fine. Fucking...yolo..." he said, voice growing weaker.

"Call them!" Jack looked to Peake pleadingly. Matt pointed to a group of pines further ahead. The group turned and saw several brown cloaked figures with hoods pulled over their heads standing there.

"They're already here," he said rolling his eyes, slightly annoyed by the appearance of his cultist fans. The figures approached and when they drew near the leader removed their hood, revealing a beautiful woman with golden hair and fair skin that was perfect. She looked down at Ray and looked at Peake.

"One fallen friend. Do you wish us to heal him oh great Peake?" she asked genuinely. Matt rolled his eyes again.

"I wish you'd stop calling me that. But yes, this young lad was badly injured and needs immediate care," he said and pointed at Ray. The woman knelt beside Ray next to Geoff and Ryan and examined the lad, laying a hand on his chest gently and closing her eyes.

"His time is drawing near. I'm afraid he'll pass into the realm before we return," she said sadly looking at Geoff and Ryan.

"You mean he's..." Geoff couldn't finish and Jack held him as sobs wracked his shoulders. The woman nodded but smiled.

"There is hope though. We can bring him back, but there's a price," she said. Ryan didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you mean?" he asked, studying the woman carefully.

"He'll be alive again, but he'll forget everything about you, about his life as a member of your crew, about all that happened here. Any reference back to this time or reminder will set off a chain reaction in his brain that will reverse the effects of our healing, and there'll be no bringing him back from that," she said sadly.

"He'll forget about us?" Michael asked softly. The woman nodded again.

"Hey...bitches. It's okay," Ray muttered weakly again and cracked open his eyes as far as he could. He smiled at Ryan and asked the gent to lean forward.

"I'll never forget you Ryan. Thank you, for everything buddy. R&R Connection will always bring the hype," he said. Ryan sobbed as Ray closed his eyes and his final breath left him. Everyone had tears in their eyes as their friend and brother left their world. Sobbing Geoff looked up at the woman.

"Do it! Bring him back! He won't remember what happened all those nights ago and he won't have to live with that pain and guilt anymore," he said. The woman looked at Geoff intently.

"Are you absolutely sure? He'll have to remain in Liberty City and you'll probably never see him again. Are you sure?" she asked. Geoff looked at the tear stained faces of his Crew and their allies.

"I'm sure. He'll be alive and okay and that's all that matters. I promised to protect my crew no matter the cost. To keep my boys safe. If this is the price for keeping Ray alive, then by dicks do it!" he said. The woman nodded and the cultists gently lifted Ray onto a stretcher and carried him back towards the pine trees, disappearing in them.

"Geoff, how do we know they were telling the truth?" Michael cried.

"We don't Michael. But I'm willing to take any leap of faith, if it means bringing Ray back," Geoff said, still watching the spot where one of his boys had disappeared.

Jeremy stared as well and felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. He didn't know what to think, all he felt was pain. He felt the pain and numbness he'd felt when his parents had died. He felt a hand slip into his and looked up to see Ryan standing beside him looking after Ray as well.

"What're we going to do?" he asked the gent sadly. Ryan looked at him and to Jeremy's surprise pulled off his mask and pulled the younger man in for a kiss. A deep soft kiss that held all the passion in the world behind it. Jeremy was startled but found himself smiling into the kiss and putting one hand on the back of Ryan's head and the other up to cup the stubbly cheek, returning the kiss. Ryan's lips were soft and the way he gently kissed was everything Jeremy ever dreamed of. They stayed that way for a minute before separating.

"I'm not ever going to lose you again! I love you Jeremy Dooley," Ryan said smiling. Jeremy's eyes widened and he too smiled.

"About fucking time! I love you too Vagabond," he said. Ryan smiled again and glanced around seeing everyone looking at them with smiles as they wiped away their tears. Then to everyone's shock he spoke again as he turned to face Jeremy.

"Just call me Ryan," he said and the two kissed again, their friend's jaws dropping as the mysterious man they called the Vagabond revealed his face and his name.

  
_Two years later_

The figure strode down the street casually, his purple hoodie sticking out like a sore thumb but he didn't care if he drew attention to himself. He knew and trusted his abilities. Climbing the roof of a building he quickly opened the case he'd been carrying and assembled a pink sniper rifle, scoping in and firing a single shot before climbing back off the building, screams and death in his wake as he walked down an alley. The figure slowed and then stopped when he heard a sound and turned.

"You're not as quiet as you think," he spoke in a bored tone. A small man stepped out of the shadows and looked at him. There was something strangely familiar about the short man, his purple blazer and white cowboy hat tugging at a distant memory that wouldn't come to the man's mind.

"Do I know you?" he asked finally. The man in front of him looked sad all of a sudden but he smiled warmly.

"No, I suppose not," he said softly. The man was confused.

"You look familiar to me. Have I seen you on the news or something?" he asked. Again the shorter man looked sad and shook his head.

"You may not know me, but I know of you Ray. I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said, a lump growing in his throat. Ray was startled.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. The small man's eyes began to water and he shook his head yet again, biting his lip.

"I can't tell you that. But I wanted to tell you I'm glad to see you doing alright," he said. Ray was confused and before he could ask the small man darted away into the shadows again.

"Hey! What's your name?" Ray called after him but no answer came. Ray shrugged, thoroughly confused and continued home.

 _He's the first person to know my real name! How the fuck did he figure out I was Brownman?_ he wondered as he returned home.

A few hours later, in a cabin on a lake somewhere on the outskirts of Los Santos, Jeremy Dooley walked in the door and hung up his hat. He sighed sadly and ran a hand through his purple and orange dyed hair. He turned to see that the Xbox was on and Ryan was in the kitchen fixing dinner. The gent smiled at the sight of Jeremy.

"Hey Jer bear! Just made it home in time for some halo and chill!" he said and waggled his eyebrows. Jeremy laughed.

"Ryan you're such a dork sometimes," he said walking into the kitchen and giving the tall man a kiss on his scruffy cheek. Ryan turned and smiled at Jeremy, leaning down and kissing his forehead as he wrapped his arms around the shorter man's shoulders, Jeremy wrapping his strong arms around Ryan's waist.

"But I'm your dork and you love me," he said.

"Only because I can't find that return receipt," Jeremy joked and Ryan laughed with his boyfriend and rocked them slightly from side to side as he leaned down and kissed the top of Jeremy's head.

"I went to see Ray today," Jeremy said quietly, nestling his head against Ryan's muscular chest. The man stiffened but gave Jeremy a loving squeeze.

"I know. I went to visit him last week and I know the others have periodically checked up with him. How's he doing?" he asked as he rested his head on top of Jeremy's.

"He still doesn't remember, though when he saw me he said I looked familiar. He's doing good, looks great. He's back behind a scope again," Jeremy chuckled.

"I guess some habits never die out," Ryan said. The two separated and looked into each other's eyes, and Jeremy once again found himself lost in Ryan's blue as the sky eyes that sparkled. They kissed once more and then Jeremy went to take a shower before returning and eating a lovely meal with his murderous boyfriend. The two sat down on the couch and played halo into the late hours of the night, falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms; both feeling safe there, and knowing that they loved each other more than anything in the world.

 

~End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading my first novel length fic! I had so much fun writing this and have loved hearing your feedback over the course of its creation. I can't believe it's all over now, but I'm satisfied with how it ended. I do have an idea for either a bonus chapter to add later, or even a sequel fic, so let me know which you'd prefer. Again thank you all you guys are awesome! Shoutout to my Vagabond friends who encourage and inspire me to write shit like this, shoutout to Ryan and Jeremy for being awesome and giving me content to work with through their streams and lets plays! I also give any of you talented artists out there permission to art the hell out of this, just let me know so I can praise you for your wonderful jobs!


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